The Story
Why it exists.
The beginning
In 2022, Calvin Klein reached across the Atlantic to London and knocked on the door of Palace Skateboards. The result is a collaboration that honors CK One's legacy while twisting it into something Palace. Lev Tanju, Palace's founder, called it a dream: 'CK ONE disrupted the status quo and to be able to make a new version of it in a Palace way has been a dream.' That dream became a 100ml Eau de Toilette that reimagines the 1994 icon through the lens of contemporary skate culture. The campaign, shot by Alasdair McLellan, features an unlikely cast: Willem Dafoe, Joan Collins, Pet Shop Boys, professional skateboarders, and Palace's own crew. It is, unmistakably, a Palace collaboration, irreverent, democratic, and a little bit subversive about what a heritage fragrance can be.
The note structure is where Palace's fingerprints show most clearly. Where the original CK One leaned citrus-clean, CK1 Palace adds depth through cashmere wood and oakmoss, materials that ground the brightness in something earthier, more tactile. The frosted mandarin opening is immediate and sharp, but the heart introduces red plum and violet leaf, two notes that bring a quiet sophistication to the composition. The Indian sandalwood in the base is the bridge: creamy enough to soften everything, woody enough to keep it from floating away. Sweet pea in the top is the surprise, a floral that reads green and slightly metallic, unusual for an opening note.
The evolution
The opening arrives fast, mandarin and lemon hitting bright and clean, almost aggressively citrus for the first five minutes. Sweet pea slips in quietly, tempering the citrus with something greener, almost vegetable. By the twenty-minute mark, the top notes begin their exit and violet leaf takes over, adding a sharp, dewy quality that feels like morning grass. Red plum and apple arrive around the thirty-minute mark, bringing a soft fruitiness that rounds out the green edges. The drydown is where CK1 Palace earns its keep. Oakmoss emerges slowly, blending with cashmere wood to create a mossy-woody warmth that lingers on skin for four to six hours. Indian sandalwood grounds everything, leaving a creamy, slightly animalic trail that stays close to the body, moderate sillage, never loud, but present. On fabric, the drydown can last into the next day.
Cultural impact
CK1 Palace lands in a specific cultural moment: heritage fashion houses collaborating with streetwear brands to stay relevant with younger audiences. But what separates this from most collabs is Palace's genuine relationship with the Calvin Klein aesthetic, the brand grew up wearing CK One. Lev Tanju's crew didn't just put their logo on a bottle; they reinterpreted the fragrance's DNA. The campaign's cast, Willem Dafoe, Joan Collins, Pet Shop Boys, and a roster of skateboarders, embodies the Palace ethos: irreverent, democratic, and deliberately mixed in a way that feels authentic rather than calculated.
