Calvin Klein Biography

Born: November 19, 1942

Bronx, New York



American fashion designer

One of America’s top fashion designers, Calvin Klein first made a
name for himself by designing clean, uncomplicated sportswear. He kept his
name popular with the public by creating sometimes shocking and always
news-making advertising campaigns.

His early years

Calvin Richard Klein was born on November 19, 1942, in the Bronx, New
York, where he spent all of his childhood. Klein was the second of three
children born to Flo and Leo Stern. The family lived relatively
comfortably. His grandmother was a seamstress and he acquired his love
of sewing from her. His mother encouraged his love of art and fashion.

Klein attended the High School of Art and Design, which prepared
students for

careers in advertising and drafting. As a youth, while others his age were playing sports, Klein was busy studying, sketching fashion designs, and sewing. Later he moved on to the esteemed Fashion Institute of Technology, graduating in 1962. He spent five years as an apprentice (a student working toward learning a skill) in a coat and suit house on Seventh Avenue in New York City, working long nights and weekends to perfect his own designs.

In 1968 Klein and close childhood friend Barry Schwartz created a Calvin
Klein coat business. The first order was actually obtained by accident.
A coat buyer from Bonwit Teller (a large New York City clothing store)
got off on the wrong floor of a hotel and wandered into Klein’s
workroom. She placed an order for $50 thousand, which was a huge amount
at that time. Encouraged by favorable reviews from the fashion press and
the support of store executives, Klein expanded his line to include
women’s sportswear.

Klein’s world soon included his couture (fashionable custom-made
women’s clothing) 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 Calvin Klein look. By 1997 sales of Calvin Klein Jeans
approached half a billion dollars.

Marketing approach was never subtle

Advertising was the key to Klein’s success. He kept the media
talking about him by creating controversy (open to dispute). He was the
first to design women’s underwear that looked like men’s
jockey shorts. His television ads for jeans starred Brooke Shields
(1965–), who proclaimed: “Nothing comes between me and my
Calvins.”

Klein developed a reputation for pushing the boundaries of acceptability
in his campaigns. Ads of the mid-1990s featured young teenagers in
provocative poses that many regarded as socially irresponsible. Klein
eventually cancelled these ads, but not
before the accompanying publicity had made the Calvin Klein brand name
a part of everyday conversation.

Klein’s three major fragrances, Obsession, Eternity, and Escape,
were huge successes, also due in part to sexually-suggestive
advertising. Advertising for his fragrances, CK One and CK Be, continued
to challenge the public. Some ads showed teens taking part in what some
regarded as an idealized drug culture. At this time, President Bill
Clinton (1946–) admonished the fashion industry not to glamorize
addiction. Klein replied that these ads represented a departure from
phony airbrushed images that were not connected to the reality of
today’s world.

Design philosophy affirmed

Klein’s design philosophy is rooted in minimalism (extreme
simplicity). He typically uses neutral colors or earth tones (browns),
and designs separates (articles of clothing designed to be worn
interchangeably with others to form various combinations) that work in
many different ensembles, from day to night and season to season. At the
same time his advertising for jeans and fragrances was being criticized,
Calvin Klein clothing was receiving critical acclaim for its clean,
modern lines.

Time

magazine named Klein one of the twenty-five most influential Americans
in 1996. Klein won the prestigious Coty Award three times in a row
(1973–1975), becoming the youngest designer to ever have that
honor. In 1982, 1983, and 1986 he also captured the Council of Fashion
Designers of America Award. In addition Klein built a financially strong
company with the continued advice and help of partner Barry Schwartz,
who guided the company through tough financial times in the late 1980s.
Few designers have rivaled his worldwide empire.

Klein’s personal life also weathered the times. He married Jayne
Centre in 1964, but they divorced in 1974. They had one child, Marci. He
married one of his design assistants, Kelly Rector, in 1986.

Klein is known for his “casual chic” clothing, stylish but
casual designs created for active women. He is undoubtedly one of the
most successful American clothing designers today.

For More Information

Fortune

(January 13, 1997).

Gaines, Steven, and Sharon Churcher.

Obsession: The Lives and Times of Calvin Klein.

New York: Carol Publishing Group, 1994.

Milbank, Caroline R.

NY Fashion: The Evolution of American Style.

New York: Abrams, 1989.