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Calvin Richard Klein (born November 19, 1942) is an American
fashion design Fashion design is the Art (skill), art of applying design, aesthetics, clothing construction and natural beauty to clothing and its Fashion accessory, accessories. It is influenced by culture and different trends, and has varied over time and plac ...
er who launched the company that would later become
Calvin Klein Inc. Calvin Klein Inc. () is an internationally operating, American fashion house. The company, which became famous for its designer underwear and denim lines in the 1980s, specializes in mass-market ready-to-wear clothing for all genders and age ...
, in 1968. In addition to clothing, he also has given his name to a range of
perfume Perfume (, ; french: parfum) is a mixture of fragrant essential oils or aroma compounds (fragrances), fixatives and solvents, usually in liquid form, used to give the human body, animals, food, objects, and living-spaces an agreeable scent. Th ...
s,
watches A watch is a portable timepiece intended to be carried or worn by a person. It is designed to keep a consistent movement despite the motions caused by the person's activities. A wristwatch is designed to be worn around the wrist, attached b ...
, and
jewellery Jewellery ( UK) or jewelry (U.S.) consists of decorative items worn for personal adornment, such as brooches, rings, necklaces, earrings, pendants, bracelets, and cufflinks. Jewellery may be attached to the body or the clothes. From a wester ...
.


Early years

Klein was born on November 19, 1942, to a
Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...
family in
the Bronx The Bronx () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the state of New York. It is south of Westchester County; north and east of the New York City borough of Manhattan, across the Harlem River; and north of the New Y ...
, New York City, the son of Flore (''née'' Stern; 1909–2006) and Leo Klein.Social Security Death Index The Social Security Death Index (SSDI) was a database of death records created from the United States Social Security Administration's Death Master File until 2014. Since 2014, public access to the updated Death Master File has been via the Limit ...
"> Leo had immigrated to New York from Hungary, while Flore was born in the United States to immigrants from Galicia and Buchenland,
Austria-Hungary Austria-Hungary, often referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire,, the Dual Monarchy, or Austria, was a constitutional monarchy and great power in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. It was formed with the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of ...
(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 The High School of Art and Design is a career and technical education high school in Manhattan, New York City, New York State, United States. Founded in 1936 as the School of Industrial Art, the school moved to 1075 Second Avenue in 1960 and mor ...
in
Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...
and matriculated at, but never graduated from, New York's
Fashion Institute of Technology The Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT) is a public college in New York City. It is part of the State University of New York (SUNY) and focuses on art, business, design, mass communication, and technology connected to the fashion industry. It ...
, instead receiving an honorary doctorate 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, through whose introductions he became the toast of the New York elite fashion scene even 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 New York Fashion Week (NYFW), held in February and September of each year, is a semi-annual series of events in Manhattan typically spanning 7–9 days when international fashion collections are shown to buyers, the press, and the general publ ...
. He was hailed as the new Yves Saint Laurent, and was noted for his clean lines.


Personal life

Klein married Jayne Centre, a
textile Textile is an umbrella term that includes various fiber-based materials, including fibers, yarns, filaments, threads, different fabric types, etc. At first, the word "textiles" only referred to woven fabrics. However, weaving is not the ...
designer, in 1964. They have a daughter, television producer Marci Klein, who is best known for her work on NBC's ''
Saturday Night Live ''Saturday Night Live'' (often abbreviated to ''SNL'') is an American late-night live television sketch comedy and variety show created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Dick Ebersol that airs on NBC and Peacock. Michaels currently serves a ...
'' and ''
30 Rock ''30 Rock'' is an American satirical sitcom television series created by Tina Fey that originally aired on NBC from October 11, 2006, to January 31, 2013. The series, based on Fey's experiences as head writer for ''Saturday Night Live'', takes ...
''. The couple divorced in 1974. In September 1986, Klein married his assistant Kelly Rector in
Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...
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 after 20 years of marriage. In 2003, Klein bought an ocean-front estate in
Southampton, New York Southampton, officially the Town of Southampton, is a town in southeastern Suffolk County, New York, partly on the South Fork of Long Island. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the town had a population of 69,036. Southampton is included in the stret ...
, on
Long Island Long Island is a densely populated island in the southeastern region of the U.S. state of New York (state), New York, part of the New York metropolitan area. With over 8 million people, Long Island is the most populous island in the United Sta ...
and demolished it to build a $75 million glass-and-concrete mansion. In 2015, he put his
Miami Beach, Florida Miami Beach is a coastal resort city in Miami-Dade County, Florida. It was incorporated on March 26, 1915. The municipality is located on natural and artificial island, man-made barrier islands between the Atlantic Ocean and Biscayne Bay, the ...
mansion on the market for $16 million. The Florida home sold in February 2017 for $12,850,000. In June 2015, Klein bought a mansion in
Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...
,
California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...
, for $25 million. Calvin Klein dated gay, ex-porn star Nicholas Gruber. Klein is a supporter of the U.S.
Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to: *Democratic Party (United States) Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to: Active parties Africa *Botswana Democratic Party *Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea *Gabonese Democratic Party *Demo ...
, having given over $250,000 to candidates and PACs since 1980.


Awards

In 1974, Klein designed the tight-fitting signature jeans that would go on to gross $200,000 in their first week of sales. In that same year he also became the first designer to receive outstanding design in men's and women's wear from the
Council of Fashion Designers of America The Council of Fashion Designers of America, Inc. (CFDA), founded in 1962 by publicist Eleanor Lambert, and headquartered in Manhattan, is a not-for-profit trade association comprising a membership of over 450 American fashion and accessory d ...
(CFDA) award show. In 1983, he was placed on the
International Best Dressed List The International Best-Dressed Hall of Fame List was founded by fashionista Eleanor Lambert in 1940 as an attempt to boost the reputation of American fashion at the time. The American magazine ''Vanity Fair'' is currently in charge of the List a ...
. 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.


Other

Klein made a cameo appearance in season 3, episode 15 (" The Bubble") of the television series ''
30 Rock ''30 Rock'' is an American satirical sitcom television series created by Tina Fey that originally aired on NBC from October 11, 2006, to January 31, 2013. The series, based on Fey's experiences as head writer for ''Saturday Night Live'', takes ...
''. A fictionalized version of him also appears in season 4, episode 12 ("
The Pick "The Pick" is the 53rd episode of the sitcom '' Seinfeld''. It is the 13th episode of the fourth season, and first aired on December 16, 1992. In this episode, Elaine mistakenly mails out a Christmas card in which her nipple is exposed to all h ...
") of the television series ''
Seinfeld ''Seinfeld'' ( ) is an American television sitcom created by Larry David and Jerry Seinfeld. It aired on NBC from July 5, 1989, to May 14, 1998, over nine seasons and List of Seinfeld episodes, 180 episodes. It stars Seinfeld as Jerry Seinfeld ( ...
''.


Filmography

* ''The Emperor's New Clothes: An All-Star Illustrated Retelling of the Classic Fairy Tale'' 1998 (voice)


See also

*
High culture High culture is a subculture that emphasizes and encompasses the cultural objects of aesthetic value, which a society collectively esteem as exemplary art, and the intellectual works of philosophy, history, art, and literature that a society con ...
*
Jews in New York City Jews in New York City comprise approximately 9 percent of the New York City, city's population, making the Jewish community the largest in the world outside of Israel. , 1.6 million Jews lived in the five boroughs of New York City, boroughs of ...
* List of LGBT people from New York City


References


External links


Info and photos related to Calvin Klein at askmen.com

Calvin Klein talks trends on VOGUE.COM










* ttp://mgross.com/writing/profiles/calvin-klein/ The Latest Calvin by Michael Gross, NY Magazine August 8, 1988 {{DEFAULTSORT:Klein, Calvin 1942 births Living people American fashion businesspeople American fashion designers American people of Hungarian-Jewish descent American people of Ukrainian-Jewish descent Art Students League of New York alumni Businesspeople from New York (state) Fashion Institute of Technology alumni Jewish fashion designers LGBT fashion designers American male voice actors People from the Bronx New York (state) Democrats High School of Art and Design alumni Bisexual men American people of Jewish descent 20th-century American Jews 21st-century American Jews