Calvin Klein
Calvin Richard Klein is a seventy five year old American fashion designer who was born in the Bronx, New York. Klein used his minimalistic, contemporary theme to create his world wide famous clothing brand, known as Calvin Klein Inc which launched in 1968. Klein originally focused on creating modern style women’s coats which was inspired by his mother who was a tailor. What were just coats eventually branched out into other women’s apparel that could be mixed and matched which was described as minimalistic and casual. Later Klein expanded his clothing brand which really took off in the early seventies(Dike, 1).
Minimalistic is described to be very casual but still dressy enough to make those who wear Klein’s clothing to feel confident in what their wearing, as well as feeling more confident in their appearance. The Calvin Klein Inc. clothing brand broke out world wide in the early seventies when the public showed a positive reaction to the famous jeans that were released and bought by the public(Jones,1). Although Klein showed much success when releasing the jeans he knew that it wouldn’t last forever. He had a passion for his fashion industry that began on just ten thousand dollars, he was determined to expand his business. Through much planning and designing eventually his company grew to be more than just coats and jeans. Eventually the brand was known for their underwear, perfume, cologne, activewear, bedding and different accessories. While sticking with his minimalistic theme he successfully grew and expanded his company. His brand is described to follow a minimalistic theme because of his classic blue jean style that is often paired with something like a white T-shirt with the wording “Calvin Klein” stapled on the front of it(Steele, 1). This classy yet simple outfit can easily be paired with one of Klein’s blazers to easily make a outfit that looks effortless, a lot fancier and put together. Minimalistic clothing typically consists of 3 colors. Black, white and grey. Keeping the use colors at a minimum is what really makes Klein’s theme “minimalistic”. Although he creates other looks that show off other vibrant colors he is said to prefer “the classy look that contemporary and modern colors give off”. With the use of these colors Klein really sticks to his theme which is primarily inspired by his mother.
Advertising is a very important way to give the public a great first impression. If people see this minimalistic style in different magazines and on different television commercials then it will drag in more customers. Calvin Klein had generated a lot of publicity through different magazine and television commercials. Although he had drawn in more customers, many of his campaigns have been found to be controversial and have caused argument between Klein and the public. Many of Klein’s advertisements are also viewed to be minimalistic but maybe not in the way we expect(Haynes, 1). These advertisements have said to have “sexually provocative nature” and “promote child pornography”. Specifically a campaign in the nineties made with Kate Moss and Mark Wahlberg who modeled Klein’s clothing. The controversy through this advertisement occurred so to the fact that Moss was said to be very thin along with wahlberg being very fit. It made veneers feel as if his line of clothing was only made for those who have a more fit body structure or are very thin. That wasn’t the only controversy that this campaign brought. Viewers thought that this campaign supported child pornographers due to the fact that it was a underwear campaign and at the time actors Kate Moss and Mark Wahlberg were still quite young. Though Klein disagreed with these false accusations made by the public about his clothing advertisements, he explained that wearing minimal clothing in his underwear campaigns brings out and gives of a better interpretation of his minimalistic theme. “Sex sells” is said to be Klein’s mindset when creating different advertisements(Andrews, 1). He uses young hot celebrities and models and removes most of their clothing and boom that’s how the billboards promoting Klein’s brand are made. Originally Klein stuck with using men and women in his advertisements, he began using two men as well as two women to show his support within the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender (LGBT) community(Steinmetz, 1). Although he has never been open with his own sexuality he has shown much support within the community which has also been controversial to the public seeing that there are homophobic people. Typically Klein does not change up the way that he promotes his fashion he finds success in his strategies and believes that’s what makes him so successful.
Today Calvin Klein is still a big statement in the fashion industry. Models today are still walking the runway in his clothing during different events such as the famous New York fashion week that is held in New York City close to the area in which Klein grew up. Representing new styles and clothing styles while keeping his theme of minimalism in mind when creating the clothing. Although Klein sometimes goes outside the box when creating his clothing and breaks that “theme” barrier. He feels that is is important to express yourself through the clothing you create, but making the public happy while doing so. This mindset gives Calvin Klein a bit more freedom when designing clothing that way he can challenge himself with different styles while keeping his theme he has worked with for so many years. Although Calvin Klein’s jeans are what really made his company blow up, today his underwear is one of his biggest success stories. People all over are using his underwear to show off his minimalistic style. He did so by creating a band with his name brand on it. Today celebrities and people all over the world are wearing anything from jeans to leggings even sweatpants with the Calvin Klein band peeking out
(Sischy, 1).Though this style wave may not be for everyone it proves that something as minimalistic as a band with a brand name on it can make the public go crazy and begin a new trend. Calvin Klein began his clothing company in 1968 with very minimal money(Sanchez, 1). He quickly grew his company known as Calvin Klein Inc. by sticking to a theme of minimalism. Klein used basic colors such as black, white and grey to create a modern yet sophisticated look that no other fashion designer has been able to embrace the way that Klein did. The reaction from the public is what motivated Klein to keep creating authentic yet simplistic looks and designs. Today simplistic is a very popular fashion theme that Calvin Klein along with other designers continue to carry out. In the 70’s the “hippie” tribe was very popular but was also the upcoming of Klein’s fashion industry. The fact that he was able to overpower some of the community during this important time in fashion history is impeccable and Klein will only continue to impress the public with his minimalistic theme through the rest of his career.
Works Cited
“Calvin Klein Brand History: Everything You Need to Know.” Jasondike. Highsnobiety, Highsnobiety, 5 Aug. 2016, www.highsnobiety.com/2016/08/04/calvin-klein-brand-history/.
“Calvin Klein - All-Time 100 Fashion Icons.” Steinmetz, Time, Time Inc., 2 Apr. 2012, content.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,2110513_2110512_2110684,00.html.
http://content.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,2110513_2110512_2110684,00.html
“Calvin Klein Biography.” Encyclopedia of World Biography, www.notablebiographies.com/Ki-Lo/Klein-Calvin.html.
“Calvin Klein.” Haynes, Clarence. Biography.com, A&E Networks Television, 24 Oct. 2016, www.biography.com/people/calvin-klein-9366378.
“Calvin Klein, Through the years.” Andrews, Jessica C Vanity Fair, 2016, www.vanityfair.com/style/photos/2014/09/calvin-klein-history
“Calvin to the Core.” Ingrid Sischy. Vanity Fair, 2008.
https://www.vanityfair.com/culture/2008/04/calvin200804
“Fifty years of fashion: new look to now” Steele, Valerie. Yale University Press, 1997.
“Know Your Fashion Designers: 10 Facts About Calvin Klein.” College, Elisabeth - Roanoke. CollegeFashion,4May2011, www.collegefashion.net/news/know-your-fashion-designers-10-facts-about-calvin-klein/.
“The Most Controversial Calvin Klein Adschild pornography.” Sanchez, Karizza. Complex, Complex, 1
Dec. 2016, www.complex.com/style/2013/09/controversial-calvin-klein-ads/child-pornography.
100 contemporary fashion designers Jones, Terry. Taschen, 2009.