Raf Simons’ high-concept overhaul of CK Jeans was a “fashion miss.” And investments in his runway collection, dubbed 205W39NYC, will be cut as marketing budgets shift to influencers and more approachable messaging, reports @kathryn.hopkins. Diving deeper into his “disappointment” with the performance of Calvin Klein, chairman and chief executive officer Emanuel Chirico told investors on a conference call ‪Friday morning‬ that he’s taking swift action to correct the brand direction, which the Belgian designer skewed too fashion forward and too expensive for its core consumer. “For holiday 2018 we are shifting more of our media spend from halo marketing to more commercial digital and social media advertising,” said Chirico. “We have upped the frequency of our posts on social platforms like Instagram and we are increasingly using micro influencers and hosting local activation to drive meaningful engagement particularly with Millennials and Gen Z.” The changes to the brand’s marketing comes after WWD reported this week that sources indicate Calvin Klein might be making a change in its photographers, hiring Glen Luchford to photograph the spring campaign, rather than Willy Vanderperre, who has worked closely with Simons since he took over the helm as chief creative officer in 2016. More on WWD.com #wwdnews #calvinklein

Michael Kors is newly fur-free and having fun with it. Read @jessiredale’s review of the designer’s pre-fall 2019 collection on WWD.com. . . . . 📸: @masatoonoda #wwdfashion #michaelkors #prefall2019

Until Jorja Smith was declared the recipient of the Brit Awards’ Critics’ Choice award last December, no independent artist had ever been nominated — and therefore won — in that category, writes @leighen But the 21-year-old English singer-songwriter has been playing the music world by her own rules since she came into the public eye in 2016, when Drake named her single “Where Did I Go?” his favorite song at the moment. Smith collaborated with artists such as Kali Uchis and Stormzy, worked with Kendrick Lamar on the “Black Panther” soundtrack and played gigs like Coachella all before releasing her debut album, “Lost & Found,” which came out in June. And the fashion world has taken to her fast. She’s been a guest at events for Chanel, Tiffany’s and Bulgari, front row at Balmain, Gucci and Kenzo and dressed by the likes of Jean Paul Gaultier and Dior. Just last week, she was the musical performer at the annual Dior-helmed Guggenheim International Gala pre-party, following in the footsteps of acts such as Haim, the xx, Grimes and Banks. The next night she was back at the museum for the gala, posing for photos with Maria Grazia Chiuri and her daughter, Rachele Regini. #wwd40oftomorrow #jorjasmith

Huda Kattan, who leads a beauty empire that is slated to bring in $400 million in retail sales for 2018, has forged her own unusual path, writes @_a_collins. After leaving a career in the finance world, she created the still-popular beauty blog Huda Beauty, drawing in legions of dedicated fans — and fan accounts — and building a base of trusted followers by shunning payment from brands in favor of her own opinions and ideas. In 2013, she launched her first product — false lashes — and they flew off the shelves of some of beauty’s most prestige retailers. Naomi Campbell brought them up at the WWD Beauty Awards breakfast in 2016. She wanted them, and they were always sold out at Harrod’s, she said. Fast forward to 2018, Huda Beauty is fixing its out-of-stock issues, with the help of back-end support from private equity investor TSG Consumer Partners. Kattan is the only beauty influencer to ever reach this level of mainstream business success, and so far, the only one to land the support of the traditional investment community. In 2018, she decided to diversify the company beyond makeup by launching subbrands. The company’s first, Kayali, a fragrance line, is off to a strong start. But even though she’s racked up success after success, Kattan is not complacent. 📸: @joshuascottphoto #wwd40oftomorrow #hudakattan

Shanel Campbell, a 27-year-old Parsons graduate, quickly caught the attention of celebrities including Solange Knowles, who wore pieces from her graduate collection when she was honored at the Parsons Benefit this past May, and Issa Rae, who wore a custom-made dress from Campbell for the CFDA Awards in June. These early endorsements showed that Campbell is adept at making special clothes that people want to be seen in. But her first official fashion show, which was held in September, gave the industry a broader glimpse into what she wants to achieve — and it’s bigger than celebrity placements. Campbell presented a meticulous assortment on 18 black women she casted herself via Instagram, and made a point to employ women of color as much as she could back of house. Her mission is to center black women and having that focus early on gives Campbell a distinct point of view, writes @ariahughes . #wwd40oftomorrow #shanelcampbell

When Brandon Maxwell launched his brand in September 2015, he was primarily billed as “Lady Gaga’s stylist,” who was trying his hand at design, writes @jessiredale Three years later, Maxwell is well out of Gaga’s shadow, known for his distinctive vision of American luxury, shaped partly by his Texas roots and partly by the sophisticated eye he developed over his styling career, as well as his own big personality. The positive reaction to his designs was immediate. In 2016, Maxwell was named a finalist for the LVMH Prize, and also picked up the CFDA Swarovski Award for Womenswear. Last year, he signed with IMG Models to represent him worldwide, across all opportunities both inside and outside the fashion space. For the past few months, Maxwell’s been filming season 17 of “Project Runway,” for which he was cast as a judge alongside Karlie Kloss, Christian Siriano, Nina Garcia and Elaine Welteroth. All the accolades and exposure are great, but Maxwell said one of his proudest moments was his spring 2019 show, a Texas tailgate theme, which was the first time he secured sponsorship — Yeti, Kia, Lucchese cowboy boots, to name a few — using it all for charitable purposes in his home state. “My goal is to reach people around the world, whether that’s through the clothes that I make, or the campaign stories that we tell, or the visuals that we create, or the runway shows. I love making clothes, I love making accessories, but I’m a storyteller, I really think. I think that’s what I love to do through so many different mediums, and ‘Project Runway’ is another medium.” #wwd40oftomorrow #brandonmaxwell

Exclusive: Supermodel Naomi Campbell is launching her first-ever Youtube channel. “I want to show the world who I am and what I stand for,” Campbell explains. “My hope is that when you engage with my channel that you are inspired by what you see, that it pushes you to be the best you can be, to do your part in the world and to pursue your dreams.” Being Naomi launches today, writes @maxinesleep . . . . . #wwdeye #naomicampbell

Callum Turner photographed for WWD, November 2018. 📸: @lexieblacklock . . . . . #wwdeye #callumturner #fantasticbeasts

Fashion collaborations are ubiquitous today, but they were hardly commonplace when Virgil Abloh first started doing them. At WWD’s Apparel and Retail CEO Summit earlier this month, Abloh talked about collaboration being rooted in his art practice and that whether it’s partnering with IKEA or Nike, for him, it’s all about “sharing an ecosystem.” #wwdfashion #virgilabloh #wwdsummits