DKNY Aims to Modernize With New Creative Directors and an Image Officer From Apple
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Since its inception in 1989, DKNY has been about the style on the streets of New York. But with the streets warranting less attention from New Yorkers whose noses are buried in their phones, checking e-mails and Instagrams, the brand has lost direction. In an effort to reconnect with the wants of a young generation of New Yorkers (and global customers50 percent of DKNY sales happen overseas, according to LVMH Fashion Groups Pierre-Yves Roussel), DKNY has hired Dao-Yi Chow and Maxwell Osborne as its new creative directors, effective immediately. The pair is famous for their menswear line Public School, which won the CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund in 2013 and includes unisex, utility-inspired clothing for women. We both grew up in NY, and DKNY has always been a part of the landscape of this city in our formative years as designers and as New Yorkers, Chow and Osborne said in a release. Their vision of culturally cool womenswear varies dramatically from the brightly colored, festive clothing DKNY has been offering for the past several seasons under the guidance of Jane Chung, who has been its designer since the labels launch. Still, looking at the trends of the season and on the street, Chow and Osbornes streamlined, clever garments feel more in line with what a modern consumer might want. (DKNY poster girl Cara Delevingne would look more at home in a Public School bomber jacket than the striped midi dress she wears in the brands Spring adsand with models and celebrities becoming more accessible on social media, that disjointedness is becoming evident to DKNYs fans.) Chow and Osborne wont be going at the new DKNY alone, either. The brand has also hired Hector Muelas as chief image officer, a new position custom-made for the former creative director of worldwide marketing at Apple. At DKNY, Muelas will be responsible for all areas of brand image, marketing, and creative services as well as all digital platforms and e-commerce, according to a release. So if you thought the Apple Watchs rollout was particularly exciting, you might expect to find some of that suspense around new DKNYs shows, campaigns, e-commerce, and social media launches. The introduction of a new creative team to the LVMH-owned brand comes after much whispering in the industry that changes would be coming to Donna Karan International. Its also in line with LVMHs changes of late to infuse excitement into its storied houses, from Nicolas Ghesquière at Louis Vuitton to Raf Simons at Dior to Jonathan Anderson at Loewe. |
