Calvin Klein
Fashion designer
"I think fantasies are for the birds; anything I wanted to do, I did. If there's something I want, nothing stops me."
Calvin Klein is an American fashion designer who founded the company that eventually became Calvin Klein Inc. He also gave his name to a number of perfumes, watches, and accessories, as well as shoes.
Background:-
Mr. Klein was born in the Bronx, New York, United States on November 19, 1942, where he spent his whole childhood. He's Flore's son and Leo Klein.His father, a mid-sized merchant, was a Hungarian immigrant while his mother was the daughter of an Austrian immigrant and an American dentist.
Education:-
Calvin Klein went to Isobel Rooney Middle School 80 (M.S.80) as a child. He attended the High School of Art and Design and matriculated at, but never graduated from. He went on to graduate from the Fashion Institute of Technology in 1963.
Career:-
In 1962, he completed his apprenticeship at Dan Millstein, an oldline cloak-and-suit maker, and spent five years working at other shops in New York City. In 1968, he founded his first business with Barry K. Schwartz, a childhood friend.
Mr. Schwartz dealt with the business side and Mr. Klein created it. The business was originally started to design and sell female clothing, but a large order from a Bonwit Trailer quickly led Calvin Klein to be known in the world of fashion. The company was established with just $10,000.
In the 1970s his clothes became increasingly popular, including a complete women's wear-ready line. Calvin Klein has added a line of sportswear to his jacket designs. Calvin Klein's world soon included his couture line, Calvin Klein Collection for men and women, CK sportswear for men and women, and CK jeans. He also licensed arrangements for his menswear, coats, accessories, intimate apparel, hosiery, swimwear, eyewear, furs, socks, and fragrances, all under his careful control and management. Of the many categories licensed, denim jeans, along with fragrances, built a large following among consumers who sought an affordable way to attain the designer's cache.
1982 saw the introduction of Mr. Klein’s men’s underwear range, which was also revolutionary, in that this was the first time that men’s underwear had been marketed as being desirable, rather than merely functional. The 1970s and 1980s also witnessed the launches of several fragrances from Klein, including "Obsession", "Eternity", and "Escape". In 1993, Calvin Klein broke the mold again, when he introduced his unisex scent, "CK One".
By 1997 sales of Calvin Klein Jeans approached half a billion dollars. He stoked the media with controversy that kept his name in the news. He was the first to design women's underwear that looked like men's jockey shorts. In 2002, the brand was sold to Philips Van Heusen Corporation, with Calvin Klein remaining as the company's creative chief.
Today, Calvin Klein Inc. is an international business, with separate divisions for Europe, Asia, and Japan. There are also three lines within the Calvin Klein empire: The Calvin Klein Collection (men, women, and home); cK for men and for women; and CK jeans, providing for men, women, and kids.
Mr. Schwartz dealt with the business side and Mr. Klein created it. The business was originally started to design and sell female clothing, but a large order from a Bonwit Trailer quickly led Calvin Klein to be known in the world of fashion. The company was established with just $10,000.
In the 1970s his clothes became increasingly popular, including a complete women's wear-ready line. Calvin Klein has added a line of sportswear to his jacket designs. Calvin Klein's world soon included his couture line, Calvin Klein Collection for men and women, CK sportswear for men and women, and CK jeans. He also licensed arrangements for his menswear, coats, accessories, intimate apparel, hosiery, swimwear, eyewear, furs, socks, and fragrances, all under his careful control and management. Of the many categories licensed, denim jeans, along with fragrances, built a large following among consumers who sought an affordable way to attain the designer's cache.
1982 saw the introduction of Mr. Klein’s men’s underwear range, which was also revolutionary, in that this was the first time that men’s underwear had been marketed as being desirable, rather than merely functional. The 1970s and 1980s also witnessed the launches of several fragrances from Klein, including "Obsession", "Eternity", and "Escape". In 1993, Calvin Klein broke the mold again, when he introduced his unisex scent, "CK One".
By 1997 sales of Calvin Klein Jeans approached half a billion dollars. He stoked the media with controversy that kept his name in the news. He was the first to design women's underwear that looked like men's jockey shorts. In 2002, the brand was sold to Philips Van Heusen Corporation, with Calvin Klein remaining as the company's creative chief.
Today, Calvin Klein Inc. is an international business, with separate divisions for Europe, Asia, and Japan. There are also three lines within the Calvin Klein empire: The Calvin Klein Collection (men, women, and home); cK for men and for women; and CK jeans, providing for men, women, and kids.
Achievements
Calvin Klein was the first designer to win three consecutive Coty Awards for womenswear (1973-1975) and was the youngest designer of ready-to-wear clothes ever elected to the Coty Hall of Fame (1975). His clothes were relatively expensive, classic, elegant, and easy to wear, and they struck a responsive chord among buyers in the United States and other countries. His achievements were said to represent not only the triumph of his particular brand of classical styling but also the maturation of the American fashion industry.
Perhaps more than for his clothes, however, Mr. Klein became famous for his advertisements, some of which verged on the scandalous. One series of advertisements featured the teenaged actress Brooke Shields modeling a pair of blue jeans and proclaiming that "nothing comes between me and my Calvins." Other controversial ad campaigns included several for his fragrance Obsession.
Works:-
design
"The Calvin Klein Look" (In 1973, Klein leaped from making only coats to designing ...)Calvin Klein Underwear (In 1982 he put his name on the waistband of a line of men...) 19821995 Collection of Calvin Klein Jeans (In 1995, he launched a series of jeans ads featuring real...) 1995
Politics
As well as fashion, Mr. Klein is interested in politics and has donated a considerable amount of money to Democratic Party candidates over the last three decades.
Connections
In his personal life, Mr. Klein also weathered the times. He married Jayne Centre in 1964 but divorced in 1974. They had one child, Marci. After battling rumors of a gay, drug-related lifestyle and AIDS, he shocked the industry by marrying one of his design assistants, Kelly Rector, in 1986. In early 1997 his marriage appeared to be faltering, and separation was announced. The couple divorced in 2006 on amicable terms after years of living separately.
Father:
Leo Klein - Hungarian - Businessman
Mother:
Flore (Stern) Klein - American
Wife:
Jayne Centre - American
Daughter:
Marci Klein - American
Sister:
Alexis Klein - American
Brother:
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