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{{short description|American fashion designer}}
]
{{about|the fashion designer|his company|Calvin Klein (fashion house)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=July 2022}}
{{Infobox fashion designer
| name = Calvin Klein
| image = Calvin Klein 2011 Shankbone.JPG
| caption = Klein in 2011
| birth_name = {{nowrap|Calvin Richard Klein}}
| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1942|11|19}}
| birth_place = ], U.S.
| death_date =
| death_place =
| occupation = Fashion designer
| net worth =
| education = ]
| label_name = ]
| awards =
| spouse = {{plainlist|
* {{marriage|Jayne Centre|1965|1974|reason=divorced}}
* {{marriage|Kelly Rector|1986|2006|reason=divorced}}
}}
| child = ]
}}


'''Calvin Klein''' (born ], ], ], ], ]) as '''Richard Klein''', is a well-known ] designer. His name is also a ] of ] marketed by his clothing company, which was launched in ]. '''Calvin Richard Klein''' (born November 19, 1942) is an American fashion designer who launched the company that later became ], in 1968. In addition to clothing, he also has given his name to a range of ]s, ], and ].


== Early life and career ==
Calvin Klein was raised in the Jewish immigrant community in the ], ]. Calvin Klein's first success in the fashion industry was when he launched his first jeans line in the 1970s.
Klein was born on November 19, 1942, to an Austro-Hungarian Jewish family in ], New York City, the son of Flore (''née'' Stern; 1909–2006) and Leo Klein.<ref name=HouseofKlein>{{cite book|author=Marsh, Lisa|url=https://archive.org/details/houseofklein00lisa/page/10|title=<!-- quote=Leo Klein and Flore Stern. --> The House of Klein: Fashion, Controversy, and a Business Obsession|isbn=978-0-471-47895-9|publisher=Wiley|date=April 5, 2004}}</ref><ref name="Flore Klein, United States ]">{{cite web|url=https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:VM7C-GPP|title=Flore Klein|website=]|access-date=June 15, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210920165834/https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:VM7C-GPP|archive-date=September 20, 2021|url-status=bot: unknown}}</ref> Leo was born in ] then in Austria-Hungary now in Ukraine and had immigrated to New York, while Flore was born in the United States to immigrants from ] and ], ] (modern day-Ukraine).<ref name="New York, New York City Births, 1846-1909">{{cite web|url=https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:2WZS-GPB|title=Max Stern|website=]|access-date=June 15, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210920165829/https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:2WZS-GPB|archive-date=September 20, 2021|url-status=bot: unknown}}</ref><ref name="New York, New York City Marriage Records, 1829-1940">{{cite web|url=https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:24H6-STC|title=Max Stern|website=]|access-date=June 15, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210920165620/https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:24H6-STC|archive-date=September 20, 2021|url-status=bot: unknown}}</ref>


Klein went to Isobel Rooney Middle School 80 (M.S.80) as a child. He attended the ] in ] and attended New York's ], leaving for six months after his first year before returning to finish his degree. He received an honorary doctorate from FIT in 2003.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Dakers |first1=Diane |title=Calvin Klein: fashion design superstar |date=2011 |publisher=Crabtree Pub. Co |location=St. Catharines, Ont.; New York |isbn=978-1-4271-9466-4}}</ref> He did his apprenticeship in 1962 at an old line cloak-and-suit manufacturer, Dan Millstein,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://fashionelite.com/profile/calvin-klein/|title=Calvin Klein|date=September 20, 2016|website=Fashion Elite|language=en-US|access-date=March 18, 2020}}</ref> and spent five years designing at other New York City shops.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://fragrancesgalaxy.com/product-brand/calvin-klein/ | title=Calvin Klein }}</ref> In 1968, he launched his first company with his childhood best friend,<ref name="Luxury">{{cite book|title=Luxury Brand Management|publisher=John Wiley & Sons|last=Chevalier|first=Michel|year=2012|location=Singapore|isbn=978-1-118-17176-9}}</ref> ].<ref name="Luxury" /><ref name="citylife">{{cite web|url=http://cityfile.com/profiles/calvin-klein|title=Calvin j|publisher=Citylife.com|access-date=January 28, 2010|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090901185806/http://cityfile.com/profiles/calvin-klein|archive-date=September 1, 2009}}</ref>
The Calvin Klein company, like many in the fashion industry, is known for its eye-catching ]. It is noted by many conservative organizations for its use of seemingly-underage models in pseudo-provocative poses.


He became a ] of ],<ref name="citylife" /> who introduced him to the New York elite fashion scene before he had his first mainstream success with the launch of his first jeans line. He was immediately recognized for his talent after his first major showing at ]. He was hailed as the new ], and was noted for his clean lines.{{citation needed|date=September 2021}}
In addition to clothing, Calvin Klein also gave his name to a range of ]s, including ] and ] (fragrances for everyone, regardless of gender), now owned by ].


In 1974, Klein designed the tight-fitting signature jeans that went on to gross $200,000 in their first week of sales.<ref name="Vogue Arabia">{{cite web |last1=Morgan |first1=Philippa |date=November 22, 2016 |title=Calvin Klein: How the Fashion Phenomenon Kept His Cool |url=http://en.vogue.me/fashion/calvin-klein-designer-fashion-facts/ |access-date=December 15, 2016 |website=Vogue}}</ref>
==Advertising==
* Calvin Klein's advertising campaigns are frequently controversial, but prove this can be very successful - to the point of making a blitz career. One of his male underwear models, ], went on to fame as hip hop star 'Marky Mark', launching himself into the Hollywood scene as well. Another Hollywood star owing his respectable career to the Calvin Klein advertisements is ].


In 1998, Klein participated in a celebrity reading of ''"The Emperor's New Clothes,"'' for The Starbright Foundation to benefit ill children.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Audio Special: Celebrity Readings From 'The Emperor's New Clothes' |url=https://archive.nytimes.com/www.nytimes.com/books/98/12/20/specials/emperor.html |access-date=2024-07-21 |website=archive.nytimes.com}}</ref>
Such blatant exposure of male flesh (before only girls were commonly used as sexy attributes), sometimes even completely bared, became a major trend in advertising world-wide except where censorship or the taste of the public don't allow it.

* They also play with emerging technologies. When advertising ] perfume in ], they employed a very unusual and groundbreaking campaign that displayed e-mail addresses in print advertisements, targeted at teenagers (such as ''anna@ckone.com'' or ''nick@ckone.com''). When these teens mailed these addresses, they would be placed on a ] that sent them mails with vague details about the models' lives, with fake details meant to make them more relatable. These mails came at unpredictable intervals, and were supposed to give readers the feeling that they had some connection with these characters. Though the mailing lists were discontinued in ], the campaign has inspired similar marketing tactics for movies and other retail products.
== Personal life ==
Klein is a supporter of the U.S. ], having given over $250,000 to candidates and ] since 1980.<ref> {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071213160547/http://newsmeat.com/celebrity_political_donations/Calvin_Klein.php|date=December 13, 2007}}</ref>

=== Relationships ===
Klein married Jayne Centre, a ] designer, in 1964.<ref name="NY Magazine">{{cite web|last1=Gross|first1=Michael|title=The Latest Calvin|url=http://mgross.com/writing/profiles/calvin-klein/|publisher=Originally New York magazine|access-date=July 14, 2014|ref=NY Mag}}</ref> They have a daughter, television producer ],<ref>{{cite magazine|url=http://www.vogue.co.uk/biographies/080422-calvin-klein-biography.aspx|title=Calvin Klein|date=April 22, 2008|magazine=]|access-date=January 28, 2010|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090718043633/http://www.vogue.co.uk/biographies/080422-calvin-klein-biography.aspx|archive-date=July 18, 2009}}</ref> who is best known for her work on NBC's '']'' and '']''. The couple divorced in 1974.<ref name="NY Magazine" /> In September 1986, Klein married his assistant Kelly Rector in ] while they were on a buying trip in Italy.<ref name="NY Magazine" /> She later became a well-known socialite photographer. After separating in 1996, they divorced in April 2006.<ref name="citylife" />

In the early 2010s, Klein dated gay ex-porn star Nicholas Gruber, who is 47 years younger than him.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Moylan |first1=Brian |title=Calvin Klein's Underwear Model Boyfriend Also Starred in Gay Porn |url=https://www.gawker.com/5626955/calvin-kleins-underwear-model-boyfriend-also-did-some-gay-porn |website=www.gawker.com/ |date=August 31, 2010 |publisher=Gawker |access-date=October 26, 2021 |archive-date=October 26, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211026222752/https://www.gawker.com/5626955/calvin-kleins-underwear-model-boyfriend-also-did-some-gay-porn |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|author=Hannah Elliott |url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/hannahelliott/2011/10/18/calvin-klein-on-kate-moss-ralph-lauren-love-and-other-drugs/ |title=Calvin Klein On Kate Moss, Ralph Lauren, Love And Other Drugs |work=Forbes.com |date=October 18, 2011}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=http://gawker.com/calvin-kleins-boyfriend-doesnt-want-any-gay-people-to-1168040884|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20130819220316/http://gawker.com/calvin-kleins-boyfriend-doesnt-want-any-gay-people-to-1168040884|archive-date = August 19, 2013|title = Calvin Klein's Boyfriend Doesn't Want Any Gay People to Touch Him| newspaper=Gawker | date=August 19, 2013 | last1=Musto | first1=Michael }}</ref>

=== Homes ===
For many years, Klein owned a home in ] on ].<ref>{{Cite web |date=2013-08-28 |title=The Visionary: Calvin Klein |url=https://www.interviewmagazine.com/fashion/calvin-klein |access-date=2024-07-21 |website=Interview Magazine |language=en-US}}</ref> He hosted friends such as artist ], ] owner ], Fashion designer ], and media mogul ].<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Warhol |first1=Andy |url=http://archive.org/details/andywarholdiarie00warh |title=The Andy Warhol Diaries |last2=Hackett |first2=Pat |date=1989 |publisher=Warner Books |isbn=978-0-446-51426-2 |location=New York, NY |pages=453–455}}</ref> Although he sold the property in 1995, it is still known as "The Calvin Klein House."<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Sloan/ Calvin Klein/ David Geffen house Est.1972 |url=https://www.pineshistory.org/the-archives/the-sloane-calvin-klein-david-geffen-house-1972 |access-date=2024-07-21 |website=Fire Island Pines Historical Society |language=en-US}}</ref>

In 2003, Klein bought an ocean-front estate in ], on ] and demolished it to build a $75 million glass-and-concrete mansion.<ref name="citylife" /><ref>{{cite news |last1=Bernstein |first1=Jacob |title=The House That Calvin Built |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/01/fashion/the-house-that-calvin-klein-built.html |website=New York Times |date=August 30, 2013 |access-date=June 18, 2020}}</ref> In 2015, he put his ] mansion on the market for $16 million.<ref>{{cite web |title=Fashion Icon Calvin Klein Snips the Price of His Fabulous Florida Estate |url=https://www.realtor.com/news/celebrity-real-estate/calvin-klein-alters-price-florida-estate/ |website=realtor.com News |date=November 2, 2016 |access-date=June 18, 2020}}</ref> The Florida home sold for $12,850,000 in February 2017. In June 2015, Klein bought a mansion in ], ], for $25 million.<ref>{{cite web |title=Calvin Klein Buys Big in the Bird Streets: Let's Go Inside! |url=https://athomeinhollywood.com/2015/06/26/calvin-klein-buys-big-in-the-bird-streets/ |website=At Home in Hollywood |date=June 26, 2015 |access-date=June 18, 2020}}</ref>

== Awards ==
In 1974, Klein also became the first designer to receive outstanding design in men's and women's wear from the ] (CFDA) award show.{{citation needed|date=November 2014}} In 1983, he was placed on the ].<ref>{{cite magazine|title=Introducing the International Best-Dressed List 2016 Hall of Fame|url=http://www.vanityfair.com/style/2016/09/international-best-dressed-list-hall-of-fame-2016|magazine=Vanity Fair|date=September 8, 2016|access-date=December 15, 2016}}</ref> Also in 1981, 1983, and 1993, he received an award from the CFDA.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://cfda.com/cfda-fashion-awards#past-winners|title=CFDA Fashion Awards|access-date=August 11, 2016}}</ref> In 1991, he received the ] Golden Plate Award.<ref>{{cite web|title= Golden Plate Awardees of the American Academy of Achievement |website=www.achievement.org|publisher=]|url= https://achievement.org/our-history/golden-plate-awards/all-honorees/}}</ref>

== In pop culture ==
Klein made a cameo appearance in season 3, episode 15 ("]") of the television series '']''.<ref>{{cite news|first=Amy|last=Odell|url=http://nymag.com/daily/fashion/2009/01/am_links_21.html|title=Victoria Beckham Now in Russian Vogue; Calvin Klein Spotted at ''30 Rock''|access-date=March 11, 2010|date=January 23, 2009|work=]}}</ref> A fictionalized version of him also appears in season 4, episode 12 ("]") of the television series '']''.
The name Calvin Klein was used by ] in the 1985 film '']'', after a woman sees his underwear.


== See also == == See also ==
* ] * ]
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* ]
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==External link== == References ==
{{reflist}}


== External links ==
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Latest revision as of 12:18, 24 December 2024

American fashion designer This article is about the fashion designer. For his company, see Calvin Klein (fashion house).

Calvin Klein
Klein in 2011
BornCalvin Richard Klein
(1942-11-19) November 19, 1942 (age 82)
New York City, U.S.
EducationFashion Institute of Technology
OccupationFashion designer
LabelCalvin Klein Inc.
Spouses
Jayne Centre ​ ​(m. 1965; div. 1974)​
Kelly Rector ​ ​(m. 1986; div. 2006)​

Calvin Richard Klein (born November 19, 1942) is an American fashion designer who launched the company that later became Calvin Klein Inc., in 1968. In addition to clothing, he also has given his name to a range of perfumes, watches, and jewellery.

Early life and career

Klein was born on November 19, 1942, to an Austro-Hungarian Jewish family in the Bronx, New York City, the son of Flore (née Stern; 1909–2006) and Leo Klein. Leo was born in Boiany then in Austria-Hungary now in Ukraine and had immigrated to New York, while Flore was born in the United States to immigrants from Galicia and Bukovina, Austria-Hungary (modern day-Ukraine).

Klein went to Isobel Rooney Middle School 80 (M.S.80) as a child. He attended the High School of Art and Design in Manhattan and attended New York's Fashion Institute of Technology, leaving for six months after his first year before returning to finish his degree. He received an honorary doctorate from FIT in 2003. He did his apprenticeship in 1962 at an old line cloak-and-suit manufacturer, Dan Millstein, and spent five years designing at other New York City shops. In 1968, he launched his first company with his childhood best friend, Barry K. Schwartz.

He became a protégé of Baron de Gunzburg, who introduced him to the New York elite fashion scene before he had his first mainstream success with the launch of his first jeans line. He was immediately recognized for his talent after his first major showing at New York Fashion Week. He was hailed as the new Yves Saint Laurent, and was noted for his clean lines.

In 1974, Klein designed the tight-fitting signature jeans that went on to gross $200,000 in their first week of sales.

In 1998, Klein participated in a celebrity reading of "The Emperor's New Clothes," for The Starbright Foundation to benefit ill children.

Personal life

Klein is a supporter of the U.S. Democratic Party, having given over $250,000 to candidates and PACs since 1980.

Relationships

Klein married Jayne Centre, a textile designer, in 1964. They have a daughter, television producer Marci Klein, who is best known for her work on NBC's Saturday Night Live and 30 Rock. The couple divorced in 1974. In September 1986, Klein married his assistant Kelly Rector in Rome while they were on a buying trip in Italy. She later became a well-known socialite photographer. After separating in 1996, they divorced in April 2006.

In the early 2010s, Klein dated gay ex-porn star Nicholas Gruber, who is 47 years younger than him.

Homes

For many years, Klein owned a home in Fire Island Pines, New York on Fire Island. He hosted friends such as artist Andy Warhol, Studio 54 owner Steve Rubell, Fashion designer Chester Weinberg, and media mogul David Geffen. Although he sold the property in 1995, it is still known as "The Calvin Klein House."

In 2003, Klein bought an ocean-front estate in Southampton, New York, on Long Island and demolished it to build a $75 million glass-and-concrete mansion. In 2015, he put his Miami Beach, Florida mansion on the market for $16 million. The Florida home sold for $12,850,000 in February 2017. In June 2015, Klein bought a mansion in Los Angeles, California, for $25 million.

Awards

In 1974, Klein also became the first designer to receive outstanding design in men's and women's wear from the Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA) award show. In 1983, he was placed on the International Best Dressed List. Also in 1981, 1983, and 1993, he received an award from the CFDA. In 1991, he received the American Academy of Achievement's Golden Plate Award.

In pop culture

Klein made a cameo appearance in season 3, episode 15 ("The Bubble") of the television series 30 Rock. A fictionalized version of him also appears in season 4, episode 12 ("The Pick") of the television series Seinfeld. The name Calvin Klein was used by Marty McFly in the 1985 film Back to the Future, after a woman sees his underwear.

See also

References

  1. Marsh, Lisa (April 5, 2004). The House of Klein: Fashion, Controversy, and a Business Obsession. Wiley. ISBN 978-0-471-47895-9.
  2. "Flore Klein". FamilySearch. Archived from the original on September 20, 2021. Retrieved June 15, 2019.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  3. "Max Stern". FamilySearch. Archived from the original on September 20, 2021. Retrieved June 15, 2019.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  4. "Max Stern". FamilySearch. Archived from the original on September 20, 2021. Retrieved June 15, 2019.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  5. Dakers, Diane (2011). Calvin Klein: fashion design superstar. St. Catharines, Ont.; New York: Crabtree Pub. Co. ISBN 978-1-4271-9466-4.
  6. "Calvin Klein". Fashion Elite. September 20, 2016. Retrieved March 18, 2020.
  7. "Calvin Klein".
  8. ^ Chevalier, Michel (2012). Luxury Brand Management. Singapore: John Wiley & Sons. ISBN 978-1-118-17176-9.
  9. ^ "Calvin j". Citylife.com. Archived from the original on September 1, 2009. Retrieved January 28, 2010.
  10. Morgan, Philippa (November 22, 2016). "Calvin Klein: How the Fashion Phenomenon Kept His Cool". Vogue. Retrieved December 15, 2016.
  11. "Audio Special: Celebrity Readings From 'The Emperor's New Clothes'". archive.nytimes.com. Retrieved July 21, 2024.
  12. Archived December 13, 2007, at the Wayback Machine
  13. ^ Gross, Michael. "The Latest Calvin". Originally New York magazine. Retrieved July 14, 2014.
  14. "Calvin Klein". Vogue. April 22, 2008. Archived from the original on July 18, 2009. Retrieved January 28, 2010.
  15. Moylan, Brian (August 31, 2010). "Calvin Klein's Underwear Model Boyfriend Also Starred in Gay Porn". www.gawker.com/. Gawker. Archived from the original on October 26, 2021. Retrieved October 26, 2021.
  16. Hannah Elliott (October 18, 2011). "Calvin Klein On Kate Moss, Ralph Lauren, Love And Other Drugs". Forbes.com.
  17. Musto, Michael (August 19, 2013). "Calvin Klein's Boyfriend Doesn't Want Any Gay People to Touch Him". Gawker. Archived from the original on August 19, 2013.
  18. "The Visionary: Calvin Klein". Interview Magazine. August 28, 2013. Retrieved July 21, 2024.
  19. Warhol, Andy; Hackett, Pat (1989). The Andy Warhol Diaries. New York, NY: Warner Books. pp. 453–455. ISBN 978-0-446-51426-2.
  20. "The Sloan/ Calvin Klein/ David Geffen house Est.1972". Fire Island Pines Historical Society. Retrieved July 21, 2024.
  21. Bernstein, Jacob (August 30, 2013). "The House That Calvin Built". New York Times. Retrieved June 18, 2020.
  22. "Fashion Icon Calvin Klein Snips the Price of His Fabulous Florida Estate". realtor.com News. November 2, 2016. Retrieved June 18, 2020.
  23. "Calvin Klein Buys Big in the Bird Streets: Let's Go Inside!". At Home in Hollywood. June 26, 2015. Retrieved June 18, 2020.
  24. "Introducing the International Best-Dressed List 2016 Hall of Fame". Vanity Fair. September 8, 2016. Retrieved December 15, 2016.
  25. "CFDA Fashion Awards". Retrieved August 11, 2016.
  26. "Golden Plate Awardees of the American Academy of Achievement". www.achievement.org. American Academy of Achievement.
  27. Odell, Amy (January 23, 2009). "Victoria Beckham Now in Russian Vogue; Calvin Klein Spotted at 30 Rock". New York. Retrieved March 11, 2010.

External links

Geoffrey Beene Lifetime Achievement Award at the CFDA Fashion Awards
American sportswear
20th century
sportswear designers
21st century
sportswear designers
Notable designs
Other associated people
See also
Categories: