Intro for February 25, 2026
– 2 min read
Dear Gossips,
I’m currently two episodes into Love Story: John F Kennedy Jr and Carolyn Bessette and while the story is ostensibly about the romance between them, it’s also giving 90s nostalgia, and Calvin Klein, the brand and the person, are supporting characters. Which is interesting because it was New York Fashion Week earlier this month and the new Calvin Klein collection was … not well received.
I’ve been wondering how much of a heads-up the brand had about Ryan Murphy’s show, if there was any involvement at all, because it’s basically free marketing. Pretty sure I don’t have to tell you that social media is obsessed with her – again – and since she’s so closely associated with CK, so much of that 90s aesthetic is all over our feeds.
But if you’re only paying attention to Calvin Klein through the Love Story lens, you might be missing out on how the brand is going even more viral with a more modern ambassador. Jung Kook’s new CK campaign dropped this week, and if we’re measuring its popularity by likes and views, his numbers are easily triple. Calvin Klein’s most recent runway might have been a flop but those collections aren’t the moneymakers. JK is the one who’ll be driving sales on the denim side.
JK is currently starring in a new spot with Rosie Perez who, like Calvin Klein and Carolyn Bessette, is a 90s icon very much tied to New York City. Back then there it would have been unimaginable that a Korean popstar would be fronting the brand’s global campaign.
As someone who’s been around during all those pop culture eras, it’s been wild watching how it’s evolved and expanded, how influence originates and travels the planet in all kinds of different directions.
We are now just over three weeks from BTS’s comeback and the release of their new album ARIRANG. So far the members have been active with brand partnerships – Suga has a Samsung drop tomorrow – but we’ve yet to hear any new music which, by their rollout standards, is kinda late. During their previous album cycles, at this point at least one single would have been released by now. The Olympics may have accounted for why they chose not to make any moves up to this point.
But we know that the album is likely locked. We know they’ve been rehearsing. There is no doubt that they’ve filmed at least one video, if not more, and that tour visuals are already in production. Promotional activities for sure have already been scheduled, just not announced. I’ve heard from industry sources here in North America that there are overseas activities that have been confirmed – and that travel would have to happen relatively soon since BTS, on release day, Spring Day, will be in Seoul for their live performance, to be streamed on Netflix. They should be on the move, imminently. Please be ready to freak the f-ck out.
Yours in gossip,
Lainey
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