Calvin Klein

Calvin Klein, born in 1942, American fashion designer. Born in New York City, Klein taught himself to sketch and sew as a boy. He graduated from the Fashion Institute of Technology in 1962 and worked his way up through the design ranks in New York’s garment district until in 1968 he set up his own house, Calvin Klein, Ltd. Klein’s original designs, with their clean lines and spare shapes, quickly won him recognition.

Klein specialized at first in designing coats and suits and expanded into sportswear in the mid-1970s. In the late 1970s his designs became increasingly sophisticated, with broad-shouldered jackets and slim, softly tailored separates. In the early 1980s Klein brought masculine tailoring to womenswear, for example in autumn and winter overcoats. His signature fashions continued to be understated, with simple but sophisticated styling free of excess and ornament. Fabrics were soft and luxuriant, often mohair, wool, or suede in rich and neutral tones. Klein brought the designer look to the general market, and his designer jeans became a status symbol during the 1970s. Many other designers soon introduced a line of jeans. His company later added a children’s line; underwear for men, women, and children; and towels, sheets, and other home furnishings. Klein entered the fragrance market in 1985 with Obsession. In 1994 CK One became the first fragrance marketed for both sexes.

Klein’s advertising has at times come under attack for sexual suggestiveness. A 1980s campaign for his tight-fitting jeans featured teen-aged actress Brooke Shields saying suggestively, “Nothing comes between me and my Calvins.” A 1995 underwear campaign showing young men in provocative positions brought allegations of child pornography, although the models were not minors. Klein withdrew the underwear ads.