Calvin Klein creative director tells why it was time to revamp the brand

Among those of a certain generation, there was a collective gasp when they heard that CK Calvin Klein was rebranding. Why would anyone want to mess with a history of iconic images, including those featuring a semi-nude Kate Moss and the more recent stunning shots of Lara Stone?

That big "Why?" was what the well-heeled crowd was keen on having answered as they recently filed into Hong Kong's Shaw Studios. Guests from around Asia, including the likes of supermodel Du Juan, eagerly anticipated the debut of the Calvin Klein Platinum line - formerly CK Calvin Klein.

Branding was always one of the label's major strengths. This is a brand that had teenagers pasting ads across bedroom walls, and which took grunge androgyny mainstream in the 1990s, spawning copycat styles to this day. But times have changed.

"The old grey label of CK just felt dated," says Briton Kevin Carrigan, creative director of the fashion giant's rebranded designer diffusion label, and of CK Jeans.

"And obviously, a lot has changed in fashion, too. We decided to call it Calvin Klein Platinum, but still keep CK as the emblem - we are not moving away from the CK motif."

But the creative director releases that there is some assuring to do, especially to those for whom CK was part of their personal fashion histories.