The runway drew a formidable crowd. Ex-Calvin Klein supers Kate Moss and Christy Turlington sat in the front row; FKA Twigs arrived with boyfriend Jordan Hemingway. Meanwhile, Madeline Argy, Bridgerton star Simone Ashley, Greta Lee, Nara Smith, and the man himself, Calvin Klein, showed up to support Leoni. 

Leoni’s background, including The Row, Céline and Moncler, was present in the sculptural shell-like outerwear. Coats that felt like exoskeletons dotted the runway as did loose cropped pants, knitted henley, flowing dresses and relaxed tailoring. 

The collection was in line with Leoni’s promised loyalty to the Calvin Klein DNA. “My goal is to define an ultimate and definitive expression of monumental minimalism and pureness through shape and craft, bringing Mr. Klein’s original vision and distinctive approach into the current day.” 

While some critics bemoaned an absence of the brand’s 90s sexiness, the prevalence of the office siren aesthetic, never more relevant than with Babygirl, a zeitgeist-defining film full of tailored floor-length coats, soft greys and splashes of pastel runs through Leoni’s collection.

It’s logical that at this moment in time, a woman, particularly a professional New York woman looking down the barrel of a four-year Presidential term hostile to their needs, might be more recalcitrant in her public sexuality than the Calvin Klein woman in the Clinton era. But that doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist. Dazed has flagged the rise of corporate fetishism and the overhead office lighting-saturated eroticism seen in Babygirl, Severance and Industry.

The trickle-down aesthetic is restrained, buttoned-up sensuality and an apt, pointed message from the brand’s first female designer.