Calvin Klein

Calvin Klein is a fashion brand founded by American fashion designer Calvin Klein in 1968. Its products include high-end ready-to-wear, custom-made clothing, underwear, sportswear, denim fashion, etc., and its products cover men's and women's fashion, accessories, handbags, glasses and perfumes.

· Brand History ·

American fashion designer Calvin Klein graduated from the Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT) in New York . At the age of 20, he became an intern designer for New York clothing manufacturer Dan Millstein . He left the company in 1968 and founded his own brand Calvin Klein (hereinafter referred to as "CK") with his childhood friend Barry Schwartz .

From 1973 to 1975, Calvin Klein won the Coty American Fashion Critics Award consecutively . He is currently the only designer to have won this award for three consecutive years . He is also the youngest designer in history to be inducted into the Coty Hall of Fame .

CK initially only produced coats, but later gradually expanded its product range to launch a complete range of women's casual clothing and accessories. In 1978, the Calvin Klein Collection high-end ready-to-wear series and the Calvin Klein Jeans denim fashion series were born.

American movie star Brooke Shields was invited to shoot an advertising campaign for CK jeans. Photographers Doon Arbus and Richard Avedon took the lead in the film , redefining "jeans" as synonymous with "sexiness" . The advertisement was published in major media and immediately caused a sensation in the fashion industry, boosting the sales of CK jeans and further increasing brand awareness.

Due to the success of its jeans, CK used the sexy style in its advertisements to launch the Calvin Klein Underwear series , which once again set off a fashion wave. In 1993, Calvin Klein won the Men's and Women's Designer of the Year Award from the Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA), becoming the first double award winner in history; two years later, CK opened its first high-end ready-to-wear flagship store on Madison Avenue in New York .

In 2003, Philips-Van Heusen Group acquired Calvin Klein Inc. and appointed Brazilian fashion designer Francisco Costa as the creative director of CK women's wear and Italian fashion designer Italo Zucchelli as the creative director of CK men's wear . As a new sub-brand of CK, Calvin Klein Performance leisure sports series was launched in 2008.

In order to expand its global retail business, CK adopted a franchise business model, signed agreements with different partners, and established a huge product licensing network. After PVH Group acquired CK, it was determined to strengthen its control over the brand again. In 2008 and 2013, it took back the sales authorization of underwear and jeans series, high-end ready-to-wear and accessories series.


With the withdrawal of brand authorizations, CK has begun to implement a consolidated management of all brand branches. Since 2016, Belgian designer Raf Simons has served as CK's Chief Brand Creative Officer (CCO) , replacing the original two creative directors, and is in charge of both men's and women's clothing departments, responsible for all series from fashion, underwear, accessories to perfume, as well as advertising marketing and other creative work.


After Raf Simons joined CK, he continued to take innovative measures to inject new vitality into the brand. In February 2017, CK announced the use of a new logo designed by graphic artist Peter Saville . The original "Calvin Klein" was changed to "CALVIN KLEIN" in all capital letters , using sans serif fonts and bold lines to highlight CK's minimalist style .

In April of the same year, CK officially launched the Calvin Klein by Appointment series , breaking the "celebrity exclusive" rule of custom clothing and providing custom clothing and accessories services for ordinary customers.

Since July 2017, CK's high-end ready-to-wear series has been officially named "Calvin Klein 205W39NYC" , inspired by the address of CK's New York headquarters, "205 West 39th Street" ; the original Calvin Klein platinum series has been renamed the CK Calvin Klein series . The CK flagship store on

Madison Avenue in New York also reopened in July 2017. At the invitation of Raf Simons, artist Sterling Ruby redesigned the store, using scaffolding from construction sites as shelves and decorations, bright yellow paint covering the entire interior of the store, and using sculptures, collages and other objects to transform the original minimalist architecture, creating a new brand image.

In November 2017, Calvin Klein announced a four-year partnership with the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts , further deepening the brand's artistic cooperation. Until 2020, CK can use all of Andy Warhol's works, including unpublished works, without limit. The 2018 Calvin Klein 205W39NYC Spring/Summer collection became the first collaboration between the two parties, and many of Andy Warhol's works were used as prints on clothing .

In 2017, Raf Simons won the Men's and Women's Designer of the Year Award from the CFDA , becoming the second designer in history to win both awards after Calvin Klein .

In July 2018, he continued to launch the Est. 1978 series for Calvin Klein Jeans, combining CK classics with youth culture and adding distinctive American cultural elements. The overall structure is mainly based on streetwear, such as trucker jackets and white T-shirts, printed with classic patterns such as eagles, flags, and buffaloes, as well as Midwestern elements such as barns and cowboys, reinterpreting the American style familiar to the public.

Currently, CK's brands are mainly divided into CALVIN KLEIN 205W39NYC high-end ready-to-wear series , CK Calvin Klein ready-to-wear series, Calvin Klein Underwear series, Calvin Klein Performance leisure sports series and Calvin Klein Jeans denim fashion series.

· Chronology of major events ·