Calvin Klein Wiki, Biography, Career, Net Worth Contact & Informations
Calvin Klein’s Fortune: Calvin Klein is an American fashion designer with a $700 million Fortune. Klein is best known for launching a clothing brand and company that would later become known as Calvin Klein, Inc. He called himself the new Yves Saint Laurent during his first New York Fashion Week, and gained notoriety for his signature, urban, simple styles.
First life: Calvin Richard Klein was born on November 19, 1942 in the Bronx, New York City, New York, the son of Flore and Leo Klein. He is the middle child of two siblings. Klein’s father, who immigrated from Hungary, owned a grocery store in Harlem. His mother was a housewife who encouraged his love of art and fashion. Klein’s grandmother was a seamstress and he acquired his love of sewing from her, eagerly and often visiting her sewing shop. As he grew up, others his age were involved in sports while Klein was busy studying, designing fashion and sewing. He attended the High School of Art and Design and enrolled at the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York City, but never graduated until he received an honorary doctorate in 2003. Klein was among other design leaders raised in the Bronx Jewish immigrant community, including Ralph Lauren and Robert Denning.
Calvin Klein, Inc: He began his professional career in 1962 as an apprentice, working for costume maker Dan Millstein. He spent five years designing there and for other stores around New York City. In 1968, he and his childhood friend Barry K. Schwartz started their first company, which would become Calvin Klein, Inc. Klein was in charge of the artistic vision and design while Schwartz handled the commercial side of the business. The brand became known for women’s suits, coats, dresses and sportswear. Schwartz and Klein rented a small showroom and eventually reached an agreement with the department store Bonwit Teller after a merchant visited the showroom and was taken away with his line.
Through his deal with Bonwit Teller, he met the Baron of Gunzburg. Gunzburg welcomed him as his protégé, and from there he acquired many valuable relationships that helped catapult him into the spotlight of New York’s elite fashion scene. Vogue and Harper’s Bazaar began to highlight his work.
In 1974, Klein entered the denim game, launching his signature jeans and competing with the great competitors of the time such as Gloria Vanderbilt. In 1982, Klein moved into underwear design and eventually expanded into swimwear, eyewear and other accessories. It was in the late 80s that he entered the world of fragrance design, including the first Obsession and Eternity.
The 1990s saw Calvin Klein, Inc. facing serious financial problems. They were rescued by a bailout of a friend, record and movie producer, David Geffen. Klein and Schwartz finally sold their company in 2003 for $30 million in cash and stock (with a limited royalty agreement.)
Controversial marketing: Creative and provocative marketing has been the key to Klein’s success. He has made his name in the media by creating controversy. He was the first to design women’s underwear that looked like men’s boxers. His eye-catching TV commercials and jeans billboards featured Brooke Shields proclaiming “Nothing stands between me and my Calvins”. Much has been said about these ads, and some of Calvin Klein’s ads were banned by TV stations due to speculation that some of the models were underage or not.
Klein’s three main fragrances Obsession, Eternity and Escape have been huge successes, partly thanks to a sexually suggestive ad. Advertisements for his fragrances, CK One and CK Be, continued to challenge audiences; some ads featured teens participating in what some considered to be the idealization of a drug culture. At that time, President Bill Clinton berated the fashion industry for its glamorous addiction, and First Lady Hillary Clinton spoke out against overtly sexual images. Anti-porn organizations joined her in criticizing Klein’s provocative ads. Klein replied that the ads represented a break with false airbrushed images that were not linked to the reality of today’s world. In 2013, he admitted that, in retrospect, he may have gone too far with the more open campaigns.
On the contrary, many critics agree that many of his advertisements were evocative and depicted a classic and serene sensuality. Klein is also credited with introducing the male underwear model into the mainstream, by featuring rapper/actor Mark Wahlberg in underwear ads. Over the years, many famous models, actors, athletes and performing artists have participated in his illustrious advertising campaigns.
Accolades: Klein has received three Coty Awards and won the Council of Fashion Designers of America Award in 1982, 1983, 1986 and 1993.
Television: Klein appeared in “30 Rock”, season 3 episode 15, in an episode entitled “The Bubble”. A fictionalized version of Klein was written in “Seinfeld”, season 4 episode 13, “The Pick”.
Personal life: Klein was married to textile designer Jayne Center in 1964, and they divorced in 1974. They have one daughter, Marci. Klein married his assistant Kelly Rector in Rome in September of 1986. They separated in 1996 but did not finalize their divorce for another ten years, in April 2006. Klein is generally a private celebrity but has talked about having relationships with both women and men. He dated Nick Gruber for two years. He doesn’t fit a specific label regarding his sexual orientation.
He battled drug and alcohol abuse and made his first trip to a detoxification program in Minnesota in 1988, before completing another program in Arizona at the time of the sale of Calvin Klein Inc.
Klein is an active supporter and frequent contributor to the Democratic Party.
