I really believe in clothes that are new, that are innovative - but that everybody wants to wear.
Italo ZucchelliThere are many things Calvin Klein would have never done - he would have never put men in leggings in a show; he would have never done a fluorescent suit - but these are things that are right for the moment. For example, a fluorescent suit is graphic, and Calvin Klein is about being graphic. And Calvin Klein is always modern at its core, so I inject my own research and my own innovation, and I make it my own. But I never deny that core, because that would be stupid.
Italo ZucchelliLiving in America has made me more practical. And, at the same time, exactly the opposite, because I'm very open to different ways of being and seeing that are completely not practical.
Italo ZucchelliIn the past, people couldn't place me. They thought that I was Danish or English or French. They never got that I am Italian. I'm not typical, maybe because my visual education was very mixed. There was a lot of London in my aesthetic: The Face, i-D, British music, and a lot of British fashion . . . But I really enjoy this contrast.
Italo ZucchelliOf course, we always get references from the past, but that doesn't mean that the clothes have to look like the past. We need to look forward, which is why I'm fascinated by new materials, technologies, techniques, and unusual ways to use colors or textures. It's very applicable to Calvin Klein because Calvin Klein has always been about modern-ness.
Italo ZucchelliThe rules of the game in general are going to change for everything, not just menswear. People want to have fun with clothes. We sold out of the mirror suits in New York, and the black suits were still there. It tells me that men are looking for something that makes them feel good, makes them have fun, and makes them stand out. And it's all different sorts of men.
Italo Zucchelli