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Klein's Fashion Education
Calvin Klein took his interest in fashion and designing and chose to make it into a career. He enrolled in the High School of Industrial Arts and Art Students League. He then later graduated from the Fashion Institute of Technology. -
Calvin Klein Brand Launched
Calvin Klein first set up his business in the York Hotel in New York City. With his $10,000 budget and new designs, the new company gained popularity among the residents of the city. -
Vogue Magazine Feature
Soon after the startup of the brand, Calvin Klein was featured on the cover of Vogue Magazine. This is a big accomplishment for brand names then and even now. -
Initial Clothing Lines
After focusing first on women's coats and other apparel, Klein expanded his business, adding pieces that could be mixed and matched. His apparel was described as "minimalistic" and "sublime" by many magazines and other designers. -
Expansion of Clothing Line
After the grown popularity of the brand, Klein chose to expand his clothing line, adding sportswear, and blazers, and more. -
Coty American Fashion Critics Award Winner
Calvin Klein won the Coty America Fashion Critics Award for his new line in 1971, and then he won again for his new lines in 1974 and 1975. -
Klein Appeals to all Women
When speaking to Vogue, Calvin Klein stated that his clothing was "loose and easy" with a "mood that is always casual". This appealed to many women in particular because it was a nice break from all of the confinements of French fashion -
Branching Out
With revenues reaching $30 million, Calvin Klein started branching out to scarves, shoes, belts, fur, cosmetics, jeans, menswear, and sunglasses -
Cover of Newsweek
Calvin Klein was referred to "as the the American Saint Laurent" by the fashion designer of Saks Fifth Avenue Ellin Saltzman. He was then featured on the cover of Newsweek, calling him the country's foremost fashion designer. -
Fashion Luminaries
With all of the new clothing lines added to the company name, Calvin Klein hired some fashion luminaries to help him keep his vision in line. These luminaries are part of the reason the the brand is did so well in the fashion industry -
Calvin Klein Known for Minimalist Designs
All of the success that Calvin Klein generated is because of his minimalist designs. The designs and pieces that Klein designed were praised by many high-end designers at this time. -
"Calvin's" Underwear Takeoff
The Calvin Klein brand underwear got its start and gained lots of popularity at this time. In 1984, the brand soared, bringing in $600 million in sales. -
Worldwide Expansion
The 12,000 United States stores were so successful that Calvin Klein opened up stores in the UK, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, and Japan. These stores were very successful, but the most income came from the Unites States stores. -
Attempted Sale of the Company
Because of financial problems, employee turnover, and licensing disputes, Calvin Klein tried to sell the company. The sale was unsuccessful because of the crash in the stock market, but the company survived under Klein. -
Further Growth in the Company
Although the company was experiencing some issues, the continuously large sales of underwear, sportswear, and fragrance lines kept the company thriving. -
Home Apparel
After all of the success in the clothing industry, Calvin Klein started to design pieces in the home section. This collection included blankets, pillows, and other essentials. -
Financial Help
In the early 1990's, Calvin Klein suffered from major financial difficulty. His friend and colleague, David Geffen, bailed Klein and his company out of debt. -
Named "America's Best Designer"
The brand was still on the rise with sales booming. With new lines coming out, Calvin Klein was a hit. He won his first award for "America's Best Designer" in 1993 and then again multiple times later on. -
Calvin Klein Up for Sale
Although the brand was doing well, they decided to put it up for sale again. They were approached by many brands like Holding di Partecipazioni, Tommy Hilfiger, LMVH, and Pinault Printemps Redoute, but none of their offers were up to the listing price of $1 billion. -
Lawsuit Against Warnaco Group
Calvin Klein filed a lawsuit against its licensee, Warnaco Group. This was because they allegedly breached contract agreements and trademark law. The case was settled in court. -
Calvin Klein Revolutionizes Jeans
In the first week that Calvin Klein released their collection of jeans, 200,000 pairs were sold, breaking many records. This success started the popularity of the denim trends at this time. -
Calvin Klein Brand Sold
Finally, almost three years later, the brand was sold to Phillips Van Heusen Corp. for $400 million cash, $30 million stock, and licensing rights over the 15 years following the sale. -
Calvin Klein Involvement
Although the brand was sold, Calvin Klein remained the creative lead for all collections, then his role changed into creative director. He then completely separated himself from the brand. -
Steve Shiffman President and CCO
Shiffman was appointed as the President and Chief Commercial Officer of Calvin Klein. In this job, he is in charge of overseeing the global commercial operations, which includes regions such as North America, Asia Pacific, and Latin American operations. Before this promotion, Shiffman was in charge of all aspects of retail. -
Steve Shiffman President and CEO
Steve Shiffman was promoted to Chief Executive Officer of Calvin Klein as a result of his loyalty and success in the company. His role in this job is strategy, product development, marketing, and commercial operations of CK. -
Raf Simons Creative Director
Raf Simmons was appointed chief creative officer for Calvin Klein. He now serves as the unified head of Calvin Klein's divisions. -
Raf Simons Leaves Calvin Klein
Two years after he was appointed, Raf Simons and Calvin Klein parted ways (several months before his contract was up). The company explained that Simons was taking the brand a different direction than what they had envisioned, so it was time to say goodbye. -
Calvin Klein Renews Manhattan Flagship Lease
This bright yellow storefront space on Madison Avenue in Manhattan is going to stay under the Calvin Klein brand. It is over 18,000 square feet, coming in at a price of $852 per square foot. This property has brought in a large amount of sales for the company which is why they have chose to renew the lease. -
"Aggressive" Marketing Spending
After the release of Raf Simons from the company, Calvin Klein marketing specialists have upped the budget. Representatives from the company have shared that they are doing this with hopes to surpass the $1.2 billion in sales caused by marketing in 2018 -
Future of Calvin Klein
Many people are wondering what is next for Calvin Klein, and representatives have shared that a commercial jeans line is in the near future. A big part of Calvin Klein's success is digital marketing for all products. They are continuing to focus on that, trying to top the $9.1 billion made in sales in 2017.