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Calvin Klein, born November 19, 1942 in the Bronx, New York City, is a well-known fashion designer whose clothing company was launched in 1968. A protégé of Baron de Gunzburg, he was hailed as the new Yves Saint-Laurent and noted for his clean lines and straight cuts on coats and suits.
Calvin Klein
was raised in the Jewish
immigrant community in the
Bronx, New York. Calvin
Klein was a proteg
of
Baron de Gunzburg through
whose introductions he became
the toast of the New York
elite fashion scene before
he had his first mainstream
success with the launch
of his first jeans line.
Calvin Klein was immediately
recognised 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 and strait cuts on
coats and suits.
Speaking in an interview with Bianca Jagger and Andy Warhol for Interview
magazine, published not long after the Baron's death Klein said:
The Calvin Klein company, like many in the fashion industry, is known for its eye-catching advertising. It is noted by many conservative organizations for its use of seemingly-underage models in pseudo-provocative poses.
In addition to clothing, Calvin Klein also gave his name to a range of perfumes, including CK One and CK Be (fragrances for everyone, regardless of gender), now owned by "Coty Inc.". Swatch manufactures watches under the Calvin Klein brand (which it owns).
Klein was the victim of a pieing in 2001 at a fashion premier at New York's Lincoln Center.
| The above article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/calvin_klein 1/8/06 |
About Calvin Klein
Designer Definition (from U.S Department of Labor)
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Clean Lines From the BronxCalvin Klein was raised in the Jewish immigrant community in the Bronx, New York, and was a protégé of Baron de Gunzburg, through whose introductions he became the toast of the New York elite fashion scene before his first mainstream success with the launch of his first jeans line. He was immediately recognised for his talent after his first major showing at New York Fashion Week, hailed as the new Yves Saint-Laurent and noted for his clean lines and straight cuts on coats and suits. Klein's own account of the mentorship is quoted directly: the Baron was the greatest inspiration of his life, his mentor, a man of style and true elegance who put him through hell sometimes but whom he was lucky to have known. The company that carries his name was launched in 1968, and the jeans line connects this entry to the designer jeans definition in this section, where Calvin Klein is one of the returning brands of both waves. Advertising as the Brand's EngineThe Calvin Klein company is known for eye-catching advertising, noted by many conservative organisations for seemingly underage models in pseudo-provocative poses — and the definition treats the controversy as a working strategy: the campaigns are frequently controversial, but this can prove very successful. The evidence offered is casting. Male underwear model Mark Wahlberg went on to fame as hip hop star Marky Mark and then into Hollywood; Antonio Sabato Jr. also owes his career to the Calvin Klein advertisements. Beyond clothing, the name covers perfumes including CK One and CK Be — fragrances for everyone, regardless of gender — now owned by Coty Inc., and watches manufactured by Swatch under the Calvin Klein brand. Klein himself was the victim of a pieing in 2001 at a fashion premiere at New York's Lincoln Center. The CK One E-Mail CampaignThe 1999 advertising for CK One is described as groundbreaking in method, not just in imagery. Print advertisements displayed e-mail addresses targeted at teenagers — anna@ckone.com, nick@ckone.com — and teenagers who mailed them were placed on a mailing list that sent e-mails with vague details about the models' lives, with fake details meant to make the characters more relatable, arriving at unpredictable intervals so readers felt they had some connection with them. The mailing lists were discontinued in 2002, but the campaign inspired similar marketing tactics for movies and other retail products. It is an early example of a fashion brand using the internet to manufacture intimacy with fictionalised models — direct, personal-feeling contact as an advertising medium, a decade's worth of practice ahead of the social-media version of the same idea. Common QuestionsWhen was Calvin Klein born and when was his company launched?Calvin Klein was born on November 19, 1942, in the Bronx, New York City. His clothing company was launched in 1968. What was Calvin Klein first recognised for?Klein was immediately recognised after his first major showing at New York Fashion Week and hailed as the new Yves Saint-Laurent, noted for his clean lines and straight cuts on coats and suits. His first mainstream success came with the launch of his first jeans line. What was unusual about the 1999 CK One advertising campaign?The campaign displayed e-mail addresses in print advertisements targeted at teenagers, such as anna@ckone.com. Teenagers who mailed them joined a mailing list that sent unpredictable e-mails with vague details about the models' lives; the lists were discontinued in 2002. More to Explore
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