Calvin Klein's women's creative director Francisco Costa says the impact of having such Aussie beauties as Naomi Watts, Melissa George and Isabel Lucas in the front row of its recent Autumn 2010 fashion show was "immediate" in terms of media awareness and sales.
"It's extremely important to have the right connection with celebrities because they are ambassadors and it's immediate, whenever you have someone of that stature wearing your clothes you get so many calls and the retail also responds so well," Costa told AAP during a visit to Australia for the 2010 Melbourne Fashion Festival.
The brand, famous for its controversial advertising campaigns and fame-packed fashion shows, says it's A-list or nothing, and in today's Hollywood landscape that means enlisting young Aussie stars Abbie Cornish and Ryan Kwanten alongside Lucas, George and Watts, for Calvin Klein shows, events and perfume launches.
"For any brand having a celebrity attached is amazing and we have been able to have some wonderful relationships with so many great people, including so many of the Australians," says Costa.
In fact, Costa proudly boasts that the brand relationship with Watts has become a personal affair.
"When I first dressed her for the Met Ball which was four years ago, we did this incredible white organza dress, very beautiful, and today she tells me that we brought her good luck because that's when she actually started dating her husband (Liev Schreiber)."
