STYLE ETC. DESIGNER C.V.
Calvin Klein
With a new designer at the helm of the American house, we trace how the 73-year-old visionary fused the worlds of fashion, celebrity, underwear, and fragrance into a global empire. B Y J A S O N S HE E L E R
19 6 8 The Fashion Institute of Technology grad founds his coat company with childhood friend Barry Schwartz—and $10,000.
1 97 7
Brooke Shields incites gasps when she reveals what comes between her and her Calvins: “nothing.”
197 8
1 98 0
For the first underwear ad campaign, Bruce Weber photographs Olympic pole-vaulter Tom Hintnaus.
Studio 54 opens; Klein’s a regular. Says Vogue: “If a hundred years from now you wanted a definitive picture of the American look in 1975, study Calvin Klein.”
19 82
Christy Turlington, Klein’s muse for nearly 30 years, makes her Calvin Klein runway debut.
Appears in his own ad campaign again.
19 84
19 8 7
Klein remarries, to Ralph Lauren designer Kelly Rector. The honeymoon: fabric sourcing…
In 1984, sales of Klein’s underwear reach $70 million.
19 85
Obsession for women is introduced.
1 986
1 99 2 1 9 93
Marky Mark (né Mark Wahlberg) pivots from dropping trou onstage to dropping trou for Calvin.
Klein casts Kate Moss as the new face of Obsession. Later, in a nod to grunge, the unisex CK One fragrance launches.
120
DEPARTURES.COM
Eternity—the top-selling Calvin Klein fragrance since launching in 1988—has sold more than 1 million bottles per year.
Calvin Klein Inc. is sold to Phillips-Van Heusen Corp. for $400 million, plus stock. Francisco Costa becomes women’s creative director, and Klein stays on in a consulting role.
2002
After divorcing, Klein steps out with new partner Nick Gruber. (Post-breakup, Gruber shops around a tell-all.)
Klein walks onto the Knicks court midgame to talk to Latrell Sprewell; city council passes “Calvin Klein bill,” increasing fines for fans interrupting games.
2003
Former Christian Dior designer Raf Simons is hired after a massive shake-up, overseeing runway and streetwear. Klein starts working on a retrospective coffee-table book.
2 010
2 01 6 2 013
After five years, $75 million, and countless rubberneckers, Klein’s Southampton home is finished.
Justin Bieber tries a Marky Mark.
2 015
BERNARD GOTFRYD/GETTY IMAGES (1968); ROBIN PLATZER/IMAGES/GETTY IMAGES (1977); NYP HOLDINGS, INC. VIA GETTY IMAGES (1978); RON GALELLA/WIREIMAGE (1986); PL GOULD/GETTY IMAGES (1987); ARTHUR ELGORT/CONDE NAST/CONTOUR BY GETTY IMAGES (2002); MATTHEW PEYTON/GETTY IMAGES (2010); ROBERT STOLARIK/POLARIS (2013); BERTRAND RINDOFF PETROFF/GETTY IMAGES (2016)
After brokering his denim license on the 54 dance floor, Klein sells 200,000 pairs in the first week, in 1978.
Debuts menswear; the company’s overall sales reach $100 million.