At the US fashion group PVH Corporation, the strategic priorities are clear. The group of companies is committed to strengthening its two traditional brands, Tommy Hilfiger and Calvin Klein. Collaborations with prominent personalities from the music and culture industry play a key role. There have also recently been prestigious partnerships in professional sports – which are now part of the global entertainment industry.
On the occasion of the presentation of the results for the 2025/26 financial year, PVH CEO Stefan Larsson formulated a clear definition of the statement that the group is striving for with its main brands. “It has to be 100 percent iconic and 100 percent current,” he said in a conference call Wednesday. For the group, it is about updating traditional values in a contemporary way.
There is a clear goal behind this. As part of the current “PVH+” reform strategy, the group wants to appeal to younger target groups that promise special advantages. “Members of Gen Z and young ‘millennials’ are particularly style-conscious. They shop more often, spend more and are more loyal,” emphasized Larsson, citing internal data analysis. PVH therefore targets its marketing activities on social media channels and digital platforms towards these consumers.
At Calvin Klein, stars like Bad Bunny, Rosalía and Jung Kook are driving demand
Influential testimonials play an important role. In this context, Larsson referred to the measurable successes of Calvin Klein’s recent lingerie campaigns with the Puerto Rican pop star Bad Bunny and the Spanish musician Rosalía. These led to sales increases of 20 percent in the men’s segment and 13 percent in the women’s segment, explained the CEO.
The collaboration with the South Korean singer Jung Kook was even more successful. Sales of products that the K-pop star recently presented in a campaign for Calvin Klein immediately increased by 50 percent, emphasized Larsson.
The most recent Calvin Klein campaign with actress Dakota Johnson for the current spring collection has already had an impact. Traffic to the brand’s website increased by a double-digit percentage after its launch in Europe, Larsson explained. Sales have also developed “strongly” since then.
The success of the TV series “Love Story” brought Calvin Klein classics back into focus
The brand recently received an additional but unexpected boost from the hit TV series “Love Story”, in which the leading actress Sarah Pidgeon embodied Calvin Klein’s classic 1990s style in the role of Carolyn Bessette, thus bringing the label’s historical core values back into the focus of fashion-loving viewers. “You can’t talk about Calvin Klein right now without mentioning ‘Love Story,'” Larsson admitted given the surprising response. “You can’t plan something like that.”
However, the company reacted quickly to the success of the series, which caused searches for historical Calvin Klein products to skyrocket. The brand dressed Pidgeon for the recent Oscars party. She also opened a specially designed pop-up store in New York’s SoHo district, which, according to Larsson, achieved amazing sales, and a dedicated section called “90s Edit” in her online shop, which is intended to focus on the brand’s classic models.
Tommy Hilfiger relies on prominent partners from professional sports
While the marketing for Calvin Klein focuses on fashion history and current stars from the top league of pop culture, PVH recently pushed the connection to professional sports for Tommy Hilfiger. Last summer the brand announced its collaboration with the new Formula 1 team Cadillac, and in January the label entered into an equipment partnership with the traditional English football club FC Liverpool, which, according to Larsson, led to a tripling of demand for the products presented in Europe.
A special case was the collaboration with American football star Travis Kelce, which was revealed just a few days ago. As a three-time Super Bowl winner, the Kansas City Chiefs professional is a sports icon – but he only gained global cultural relevance through his relationship with pop titan Taylor Swift. Kelce, who will act as Tommy Hilfiger’s “global brand ambassador and creative partner” in the future, serves several target groups at the same time.
The connection to pop culture has a long tradition at the brand. She finally celebrated her global breakthrough in the 1990s through close collaboration with up-and-coming hip-hop stars. The decisive factor was an appearance by rapper Snoop Dog, who wore a Tommy Hilfiger outfit on the popular TV show “Saturday Night Live” in 1994. He finally helped the brand make the leap from the scene into the fashion mainstream.
The group continues to rely on appropriate partnerships – and has recently shown remarkable intuition. After all, Bad Bunny and Rosalía are now among the most influential artists worldwide, but like Jung Kook, they have been able to maintain their identity and therefore continue to appeal to diverse regional target groups.
Given the global challenges facing the fashion industry, the measurable successes of these collaborations are currently not enough to help PVH make big leaps. For the current 2026/27 financial year, the group management once again expects only a modest increase in sales.
