For his Spring/Summer 2016 collection for Calvin Klein Collection, men’s creative director Italo Zucchelli looked to some of menswear’s most time-tested pieces for inspiration. “It’s based on the two main staples of the American wardrobe, one being denim and the other being chino pants,” Zucchelli told us. The result was a collection that was deceptive in its simplicity and familiarity. “The question was how can we make them new?” Zucchelli did just that, adding a painstaking amount of forethought to each item.

We wanted to see what makes one standout piece from the lineup, a "denim" jacket that Zucchelli dubbed “Graphic Heatwave,” so damn special. The short answer: a whole lot.

The Piece: Why a denim jacket? “I like to reference the Calvin Klein iconic language, one of the things being denim,” says Zucchelli. "In Collection, we have to do it in an elevated way.”

The Fabric: At first glance, this jacket looks to be made from the loomed denim you’re used to seeing, but it’s not. It’s made from jacquard, a particular type of weave*. While that may not sound particularly special, any pattern you find on this piece isn’t printed on the fabric after the jacket is constructed, it’s woven into the material. So the patches of lighter, faded color are part of the actual thread, woven into the design. Each “fade" has to be carefully planned out ahead of time.

“They programmed the machine to make sure there would be lighter streaks in the fabric in that location. It’s all placed,” Zucchelli says. “The cut of the seam, the cut of a sleeve, the cut arm—it all had to be with the same faded spots. It was a very difficult, intricate process.” It took two to three months to perfect the effect. The fabric was patented, which gave Calvin Klein proprietary use of it for a year and caused a lot of “Italian drama” with the mill he works with.

*The Merriam-Webster definition of jacquard is "a fabric of intricate variegated weave or pattern." In layman's terms, it means that the thread is woven to accommodate a pattern (oftentimes a repeating design), and is done so in a way that the warp threads are raised, so that the design is raised. Because of the way it's made, these textiles are more difficult and more time-consuming to make.


The Lining: The jacquard is bonded to a cotton lining, which gives the garment dimensionality as well as a sense of density, despite its being very lightweight. “When you see it photographed, you may not understand it. But when you see it in person, it has a nice weight, a nice texture—it really makes a difference.”

The Cut: The cut of the jacket is slightly cropped and very lean, with wider shoulders. “We wanted this effect of the guys looking sexy,” Zucchelli says. Unlike other brands that have an erudite or conceptual aesthetic, Calvin Klein is intertwined with desire. Thus the jacket is cut to put emphasis on the body beneath. Additionally, there are no side pockets, only two at the chest. This helps give the garment a streamlined shape.

The Buttons: The buttons are in a brushed metal, which means they are sturdy and masculine and also blend in with the rest of the jacket’s faded look. Only the top and bottom ones are visible; the rest are hidden behind a placket.

In addition to the denim jacquard and chino pieces, Zucchelli added printed shirts to the collection—colorful waves and black palm-tree silhouettes, inspired by a book he found of prints by L.A.-based artist Ed Ruscha. “It was very small and very expensive, this out-of-print small book,” Zucchelli says. But it helped give the collection another dimension—a tropical, colorful element.