
Calvin Klein (full name Calvin Richard Klein) was born on November 19, 1942 in The Bronx,
New York, USA. He is famous American fashion designer. His name became popular and is a brand in fashion nowadays.
Biography and Career :
He studied at High School of Industrial Art and graduated in 1962 from Fashion Institute of Technology New York. For five years he had designed for the New York shops and later decided to have his own company. He was the protege of Baron de Gunzburg, whom he considered a source of inspiration and his mentor.
His first major show at the New York Fashion Week was a great success and many considered him the new Yves Saint-Laurent. His designs had clean lines and straight cuts on coats
and suits. He and Barry Schwartz, his childhood friend, created the Calvin Klein empire. At first it was Calvin Klein Ltd., a coat shop in the York Hotel in New York.
In 1969 he appeared on the cover of Vogue and in 1973 he received his first award from Coty Award. Around 1978 their incomes were estimated at 100 million dollars. They designed everything: from clothes, scarves, shoes, belts, furs, sunglasses and sheets, to cosmetics, perfumes and jewelries.
One of the first persons who appeared in the CK advertisements is
Brooke Shields. From 1980 they started to create an underwear collection which brought them another 70 million dollars per year. In 1987 the company had serious money problems and Calvin Klein Industries was sold after over a decade in 2002 to Phillips Van Heusen Corp.
The persons who design for CK are Francisco Costa, who creates the collections for women and Italo Zucchelli, who previously worked at Jil Sander and Romeo Gigli. The CK shops are all over the world and they produce millions of dollars annually.
Trivia :
- He doesn't create only clothes, but also perfumes, jewelry and watches.
- His parents were Jewish Hungarian immigrants.
Quotes :
- "A little mystery isn't so bad. I stopped at nothing. I would do anything."
- "Any kind of operation frightens me. I don't like hospitals."
- "Anyone who is secure about herself shouldn't be threatened by the ads I do."
- "Commercials capture your attention, that's all."
Calvin Klein's Dates :
Kelly Rector (1986)
Calvin Klein Image : celebritywar.com
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