Fashion designer Calvin Klein was born in 1942, in the Bronx, New York. He was raised in a middle-class Jewish community and it was evident from a young age that Klein harboured a strong passion for fashion, drawing and design, spending hours of his free time sketching women’s attire. He graduated from the High School of Art and Design and immediately set about preparing himself for a career in fashion, studying apparel design at Manhattan's Fashion Institute of Technology. It was here that Klein met Jayne Centre who was also a student and the pair married in 1964. Klein and Centre had a daughter, Marci but the couple later divorced in 1974.
In 1968, Klein decided that he wanted to launch his own clothing line and was highly inspired by the unique, unapologetic and unpretentious style that the young people in New York embraced. With financial backing from his childhood friend Barry Schwartz, he commissioned a local seamstress to make a small number of coats and dresses. Having only just started out, Klein showcased his work in a dingy showroom but this didn’t stop him gaining attention and it wasn’t long before a merchandise manager from the super chic Bonwit Teller visited Klein's showroom and purchased $50,000 worth of merchandise and displayed the samples in eight of their coveted windows.
In the 1970’s the fashion industry was a smaller circle than it is today and the word about the new designer spread rapidly with buyers, editors and writers who were all highly impressed by Klein’s sleek and streamlined designs. Klein’s work was featured on a regular basis in prestigious publications including Vogue and Harper's Bazaar. In the early 1970s, he introduced his trademark jeans, which were tightly cut and featured his name on the back pocket. Calvin Klein jeans became the must have designer denim, selling over 40,000 pairs a week and a series of provocative advertisements were created; one including 15-year-old Brooke Shields and the tag line "Nothing comes between me and my Calvins."
In 1982, Klein began to embark on designing for the underwear market and by simply adding his sleek style and logo to boxers and briefs, Calvin Klein underwear became incredibly popular and are still so today with many men wearing the boxers and revealing the top band displaying the Calvin Klein branding. Also creating masculine inspired bikinis for women, there was a sense of the designer uniting male and female fashion which was highly unique at this point in the industry. In the late 1980s, Klein entered the fragrance market with the launch of Obsession and Eternity and the brand has now extended its product lines to accessories, cosmetics, hosiery, eyewear and the introduction of a Calvin Klein jewellery collection.
As a way of emphasising the sleek and simple nature of his designs, Klein has often used controversial ad campaigns as a creative contrast, many of which have featured Kate Moss, Mark Wahlberg, and Antonio Sabato Jr. In 1995 however, perhaps going a little too far with his ad campaigns, particularly in regards to a series of commercials that featured young people in sexually evocative poses, Klein pulled the ads after being denounced by President Bill Clinton and the Catholic League.
Highly respected as a designer on a global scale and considered to be the most prominent American fashion designer, Klein was first awarded the Council of Fashion Designers of America Award for outstanding design in both womenswear and menswear in 1982 and continued to win this award for several years after. He also won the Coty Award in 1973, 1974 and 1975 (making him the youngest designer to win these awards) and the America's Best Designer of 1993 Award. A member of numerous committees, including the Council of Fashion Designers of America, Klein is also the designer of choice for many ‘A’ list and high profile celebrities such as Julia Roberts, Gwyneth Paltrow and Helen Hunt, and his work has influenced designers such as Miuccia Prada and Donna Karan.
The collection of Calvin Klein jewellery comprises of a wide range of sophisticated, contemporary and exquisitely styled designs, all very much representative of the chic Calvin Klein style. The collection for men (or unisex designs) includes statement but sleek rings and chic bangles and the pieces specifically for ladies include a wide array of striking rings, necklaces, cuff bangles, bracelets and various styled earrings.
As a designer, Calvin Klein has a passion for the incorporation of interesting and unique shapes in his work to convey character and personality, and therefore this is accentuated and channelled even further in the Calvin Klein jewellery collection. With earrings that feature a strand which wraps over itself and statement dome style rings with vibrant coloured glass, it is definitely the exciting and innovative use of shape that defines this jewellery range from others. The designer prefers the jewellery collection to maintain a clean, versatile and streamlined aesthetic and therefore most of the pieces are made using polished stainless steel but also experiment with texture, and diamante stones are also added in some pieces for a touch of glamour and elegance!
Colour is also used and carefully selected to compliment the silver tones and include royal blue, pink, grey and white. This allows the jewellery pieces to be bold and stylishly effective without being too elaborate due to the minimal detailing. Depth and dimension is a consistent theme and defined angles are also evident throughout the range, but with the typical Calvin Klein elegance and sophistication that has made the brand so popular and one of the most respected and influential in the world.
With a sharp, sleek and contemporary style, Calvin Klein jewellery is the perfect way to compliment your look whether this is demure and feminine or casual and sporty. With the use of high quality materials and dynamic designs, a piece of Calvin Klein jewellery makes the ultimate investment accessory and has a timeless quality that will look incredible season after season and work perfectly with the constantly evolving fashion trends.
