Calvin Klein sunglasses, Calvin Klein Eyeglasses, cK, Calvin Klein sun glasses

Calvin Klein
Fashion Designer Extraordinaire

Calvin Klein

Calvin Klein was born November 19, 1942, in the Bronx, New York and raised in the Mosholu Parkway section, a middle-class Jewish community of first and second-generation immigrants.

His teenage passion for fashion and drawing found him spending countless hours sketching women in dresses and suits. Upon graduating from the High School of Art and Design, Klein attended Manhattan's preeminent Fashion Institute of Technology to study apparel design. There he met fellow student Jayne Centre. In 1964, two years after Klein completed his course work, the two married.

Drawing Inspiration from the fresh and unpretentious style of New York's urban youth, Klein set out to launch his own clothing company in 1968. With Barry Schwartz, a childhood friend, he secured financial backing, and commissioned a local seamstress to make a small collection of coats and dresses.

Klein's first big break came when a merchandise manager from Bonwit Teller visited Klein's modest showroom and was taken by the collection. Within weeks, the chic department store purchased $50,000 worth of merchandise and displayed the samples in eight of their coveted windows. Shortly after his auspicious debut, Klein created a line of designer sportswear.

Throughout the fashion industry, word spread quickly about Klein and his sleek designs, which were now featured regularly in Vogue and Harper's Bazaar. In the early 1970s, he introduced his trademark jeans, which he elevated to designer status by cutting them tight and branding his name on the back pocket. A series of provocative advertisements that had then 15-year-old Brooke Shields softly and suggestively uttering the line, "Nothing comes between me and my Calvins." created a designer jean frenzy among consumers, who were purchasing over 40,000 pairs a week.

Success continued, and in 1982, by adding his style logo to boxers and briefs, Klein took the underwear market by storm. His designs blurred the boundaries between the sexes, creating somewhat masculine bikinis for women. Venturing out even further, in the late 1980s Klein entered the fragrance market and launched the highly successful perfumes Obsession and Eternity.

Expansion was inevitable, and the label grew to include swimwear, accessories, hosiery, and eyewear. The brand CK was born in the early 1990s, offering an affordable line of casual apparel and accessories.Klein also entered the home decor market, with his brand appearing on accessories ranging from bath towels to bedding linens. Most recently, Calvin Klein Cosmetics, a makeup line sold exclusively in fine department stores, was launched.

To date, Calvin Klein Incorporated has exceeded $6 billion in annual sales.

Often during his career, Klein has come under stinging criticism for his controversial ad campaigns that saturated the media, most notably those that featured Kate Moss, Mark Wahlberg, and Antonio Sabato Jr. In 1995,antipornography advocates were outraged by a series of commercials that featured adolescents in sexually suggestive poses. Responding to criticism from the Catholic League and then President Clinton, Klein pulled the ads.

Widely recognized as the most prominent of American fashion designers, Klein was first awarded the prestigious Council of Fashion Designers of America Award for outstanding design in both womenswear and menswear in 1982. He was the first designer ever to receive both honors in the same year.During his illustrious career, Klein has received many accolades for his work and contribution to fashion. These include: the Coty Award in three consecutive years - 1973, 1974 and 1975 (the youngest designer to win these awards); the Council of Fashion Designers of America Award for design in women and menswear in 1982, 1983, and 1986 (again, the first designer to receive both awards in the same year); the CDFA in 1993 for both women and menswear; and the America's Best Designer of 1993 Award.

Klein maintains memberships in numerous prestigous professional associations, such as the Council of Fashion Designers of America. Often sought out, Klein is the designer of choice for celebrities such as Julia Roberts, Gwyneth Paltrow and Helen Hunt, and has influenced designers such as Miuccia Prada of the famed Prada fashion house and Donna Karan of DKNY.

Klein divorced Jayne Centre in 1974. They have one daughter, Marci. In 1986, Klein married socialite Kelly Rector; but have since divorced.

The Calvin Klein enterprise was founded in 1968 by Calvin Klein and Barry Schwartz, sole owners until clothing giant Phillips-Van Heusen purchased the company in 2003.

Calvin Klein Sunglasses and Calvin Klein Eyeglasses - CK - America's Preeminent Designer Brand