Team 1- Reimagine

As Team “Reimagine,” our team focused on Product Innovation. After the first step of conducting secondary research by doing ecosystem maps, understanding the fashion industry and diving into Calvin Klein’s efforts, we conducted primary research through surveys and in-depth interviews.

From here, we formulated three problem statements.

• How might we reimagine Calvin Klein’s existing products into a textile-to-textile circular range that does not compromise quality or style?
• How might we make sustainability an integral part of Calvin Klein’s narrative and energize consumers who want to see a change?
• How might we attract and engage the global community of planet lovers to stay loyal to or get inspired by Calvin Klein?

From our research we discovered that Calvin Klein carries particularly high brand loyalty, and that its consumers place importance on comfort and sustainability.

We saw an opportunity for consumer engagement by infusing the brand with a membership that prompts those to participate that are ready to create change and live with purpose.

After pitching this initial membership strategy idea in the mid-term presentation, we integrated the Calvin Klein team’s feedback into our prototype stage, where we tested consumer’s willingness to engage in sustainability, and the extent to which they feel comfortable reimagining the status quo.

We learned that the biggest leverage that Calvin Klein has is its strong brand DNA, which they could use to create momentum in pushing sustainability into their product line.

Our suggestion is to bring the Calvin Klein community to life through an engagement hub, where common spaces with differing focus areas allow consumers to engage in areas that matter to them. Reimagining product innovation by inviting everyone in.

Team 2 – Re (Imagine) the Box

The box’s purpose is to contain, protect and sell the product. With this in mind, we conducted extensive primary and secondary research exploring alternatives to the original Calvin Klein box. Initially, we approached the packaging problem from a materials lens and looked into innovative materials to reconstruct the box. However, our research revealed how challenging the recycling process is to track and measure progress, especially when operating globally as Calvin Klein does. We spent time interviewing and surveying customers and sales associates. Through this research, we gained valuable insights which propelled our project. Our central observation was how divided the customer experience was between men and women. Men’s underwear is contained in a box, whereas women’s is not. As a team of women, we were greatly surprised by this, which led us to question, “what is the value of the box?” We shifted our focus to narrowing the gender gap between men’s and women’s customer experience when shopping for underwear. Our understanding was that if we changed the consumer behavior by removing the box, we could prevent materials from entering the recycling system from the beginning, leading to our solution.

Our solution is a holistic shopping experience that is inclusive, accessible, and responsible. With stakeholders’ needs in mind, we have redesigned an underwear display system that contains, protects, and sells the product. The redesigned structure considers PVH priorities, fashion-forward targets, and impacts on various sectors. In this project, we deep dove into what implementation of this display would look like by journey mapping, prototyping, and creating a business model canvas and value proposition. We also explored how Calvin Klein could utilize current retail fixtures and the next steps for PVH to take to increase the success of our solution.

Studio Instructor

Carolina Obregon

Team 1 Designers

Gavon Broomfield
Yu Wang
Louis Kopp
Bhayashri Soni
Emilia Sandoghdar

Team 2 Designers 

Bailey Davis
Nikki Dubé
Supanit Loharjun
Tanvi Mehta
Juilee Narkar
Ifah Pantitanonta