It’s one of the most recognized fashion brands in the world and—with more than $5 billion in annual sales—also one of the most profitable. Bronx-born Klein started his company in 1968, a coat shop with childhood friend Barry Schwartz. Legend has it that a buyer from the now-defunct high-end department store Bonwit Teller accidentally stumbled into his workroom in 1969 after getting off on the wrong floor; within a week, Klein had his first $50,000 order. By the early seventies, he was designing award-winning womenswear and lingerie collections and he’d made the cover of Vogue. A decade later, the brand became known as much for its pioneering marketing and advertising campaigns as its minimalist fashions: Brooke and her jeans, Kate and her Obsession, Mark and his tightie-whities. With a mix of successes (huge growth, marketing genius, critical acclaim) and failures (rocky start with menswear, near-bankruptcy in the early nineties, a feud with a distributor), the business would relentlessly expand and establish lucrative licensing deals for jeans, underwear, fragrance, home products, and eyewear. Klein sold the company to Phillips-Van Heusen in 2003, and his Brazilian protégé, Francisco Costa, was appointed creative director of women’s. Today, Costa is the label’s most visible face, and his collections have been well received by both critics and the industry. Italo Zucchelli helms menswear, and Kevin Carrigan oversees the sportswear and retail line of Calvin Klein and ck Klein as well as the licensing arms.

Status

Critics' Favorite, Established, Household Name

Clients

Hilary Swank, Eva Mendes, Ali Larter, Gwyneth Paltrow, Lauren Hutton

Sibling Labels

ck Calvin Klein

Other Product Lines

Eyewear, Fragrances, Jeans, Lingerie, Underwear

Owned By

Phillips-Van Heusen Corporation

Address

205 W. 39th St.
New York, New York 10018
212-221-4541

Where To Buy

Calvin Klein, Bergdorf Goodman, Bloomingdale's, Macy's, Saks Fifth Avenue

Related Websites

• Calvin Klein Inc. (Official)
• Calvin Klein (Official)
• The New York Times Topics: Calvin Klein (Media)
• USA Today Topics: Calvin Klein (Media)
• Facebook: Calvin Klein (Other)
• Style.com: Calvin Klein Collection (Media)
• Men.Style.com: Calvin Klein Collection (Media)