Born on November 19, 1942, Calvin Klein studied fashion at the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York City and apprenticed for a suit manufacturer. Inspired by the fresh and unpretentious style of New York’s urban youth, Klein was ready to launch his own clothing company in 1968.
In 1968, he and Barry Schwartz opened their own company, with Schwartz running the business side of things and Klein responsible for design and artistic vision.
The company was officially set up on December 28, 1967. Klein hired a seamstress to make a handful of his elegant woman’s coats and dresses. This merchandise was seen in a dingy showroom by a merchandise manager from Bonwit Teller. The department store purchased$50,000 worth of apparel and displayed samples in eight windows, kicking of Klein’ s career.
By 1971, Calvin Klein volume achieved to $5 million. Klein was the first designer to win three consecutive Coty Awards for womenswear (1973–75) and was the youngest designer of ready-to-wear clothes ever elected to the Coty Hall of Fame (1975).
In 2003 Klein sold his company to Phillips–Van Heusen (later called PVH) in a deal valued at some $430 million with up to $300 million in future royalties.
Global retail sales of products sold under the Calvin Klein brands were approximately $9.4 billion in 2019.
Business history of Calvin Klein brand
