Calvin Klein

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This article is about the fashion designer. For his company, see Calvin Klein (fashion house).

Calvin Klein
Klein in 2011
Born
Calvin Richard Klein

(1942-11-19) November 19, 1942 (age 83)
New York City, U.S.
EducationFashion Institute of Technology
OccupationFashion designer
LabelCalvin Klein Inc.
Spouses
Jayne Centre
​
​
(m. 1965; div. 1974)​
Kelly Rector
​
​
(m. 1986; div. 2006)​
PartnerKevin Baker (2016—present)
ChildrenMarci Klein

Calvin Richard Klein[a] (born November 19, 1942) is an American fashion designer. In 1968, he launched the company that later became Calvin Klein. In addition to clothing, he has also given his name to a range of perfumes, watches, and jewellery.

Early life and education

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Klein was born on November 19, 1942, in the Bronx, New York City. He is the son of Flore (née Stern; 1909–2006) and Leo Klein.[1][2] His father was born in Boiany, Austria-Hungary (now Ukraine) and had immigrated to New York.[3] He was born in the United States to immigrants from Galicia and Bukovina, Austria-Hungary (now Ukraine/Romania).[4]

As a child, Klein attended J.H.S. 80 in the Bronx.[5] He earned a diploma at the High School of Art and Design in Manhattan.[6] After graduation, he attended New York's Fashion Institute of Technology,[7] leaving for six months after his first year before returning to finish his degree.

He was one of several design leaders raised in the Jewish community in the Bronx, along with Ralph Lauren and Robert Denning.[8][9]

Career

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Klein did his apprenticeship in 1962 at an old line cloak-and-suit manufacturer, Dan Millstein,[10] and spent five years designing at other New York City shops.[11]

In 1968, Klein launched his first company with his childhood friend Barry K. Schwartz.[12][8] When Schwartz was considering buying a supermarket in Harlem, Klein informed him that he wanted to "design medium priced clothes with a clean look."[13] "When I said I needed money to start out on my own, he said 'You've got it,'" Klein said.[13] Schwartz also became his business manager.[13] After leaving his manufacturing job, Klein set up an office in a hotel room, began designing coats, and eventually brought his creations to Bonwit Teller, where a buyer liked them.[13]

He became a protégé of Baron de Gunzburg,[8] who introduced him to the New York elite fashion scene 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. He was hailed as the new Yves Saint Laurent, and was noted for his clean lines.[14]

In 1974, Klein designed the tight-fitting signature jeans that went on to gross $200,000 in their first week of sales.[15]

In 1998, Klein participated in a celebrity reading of The Emperor's New Clothes for The Starbright Foundation to benefit ill children.[16]

Personal life

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Klein is a supporter of the U.S. Democratic Party, having given over $250,000 to candidates and PACs since 1980.[17]

Relationships

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Klein married Jayne Centre, a textile designer, in 1964.[18] Despite going to the same high school and growing up next door in New York, Klein and Centre did not meet and begin dating until college.[13] They have a daughter, television producer Marci Klein,[19] who is best known for her work on NBC's Saturday Night Live and 30 Rock. The couple divorced in 1974.[18]

In September 1986, Klein married his assistant Kelly Rector in Rome while they were on a buying trip in Italy.[18] She later became a well-known socialite photographer. After separating in 1996, they divorced in April 2006.[8]

From 2010 to 2012, Klein dated gay ex-porn star Nicholas Gruber, who is 47 years younger.[20][21][22] In 2016, Klein began dating model Kevin Baker.[23]

Homes

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For many years, Klein owned a home in Fire Island Pines, New York on Fire Island.[24] He hosted friends such as artist Andy Warhol, Studio 54 owner Steve Rubell, Fashion designer Chester Weinberg, and media mogul David Geffen.[25] Although he sold the property in 1995, it is still known as "The Calvin Klein House."[26]

In 2003, Klein bought an ocean-front estate in Southampton, New York, on Long Island and demolished it to build a $75 million glass-and-concrete mansion.[8][27] In 2015, he put his Miami Beach, Florida mansion on the market for $16 million.[28] The Florida home sold for $12,850,000 in February 2017. In June 2015, Klein bought a mansion in Los Angeles, California, for $25 million.[29]

Awards and honors

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In 1974, Klein also became the first designer to receive outstanding design in men's and women's wear from the Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA) award show.[citation needed] In 1983, he was placed on the International Best Dressed List.[30] Also in 1981, 1983, and 1993, he received an award from the CFDA.[31]

In 1991, he received the American Academy of Achievement's Golden Plate Award.[32]

Klein received an honorary doctorate from the Fashion Institute of Technology in 2003.[33]

In pop culture

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Klein made a cameo appearance in season 3, episode 15 ("The Bubble") of the television series 30 Rock.[34] A fictionalized version of him also appears in season 4, episode 12 ("The Pick") of the television series Seinfeld. The name Calvin Klein was used by Marty McFly in the 1985 film Back to the Future, after his mother in the 1950s sees the name on his underwear.

See also

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References

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  1. ^ /klaɪn/ KLYNE
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