Calvin Klein
Neera Bann
Professor Hamilton
FSHD 1311
October, 7th 2012
Calvin Klein
An American Designer
By
Neera Bann
Calvin Richard Klein was born and raised in New York City's borough of the Bronx. He decided he wanted to be a fashion designer at an early age, most probably as a result of the influence of his grandmother. Leo and Flora Klein were his parents. They both worked in the grocery business. Flora’s mother, Molly Stern was an accomplished seamstress. She operated a notions shop and tailoring business where Calvin spent a lot of time as a child. (Marsh) Calvin attended P.S 80, a public school that a lot of other famous people attended including Penny and Gary Marshall and Ralph Lauren. (Marsh) At P.S 80 he excelled in art and drawing and upon graduation went to the High School of Industrial Art. After that he attended the Fashion Institute of Technology. (Marsh) After graduating from the Fashion Institute of Technology in 1963, he worked for women's coat and suit manufacturers in Manhattan's garment district before opening his own business in 1968. He did not study with any other notable designers but he relied on his childhood friend Barry Schwartz for career advice. Schwartz loaned him $10,000 in start-up funds and joined the firm a month later, after the family supermarket in Harlem that Schwartz had inherited was gutted in the riots that followed the assassination of Martin Luther King. (Int’l Directory)
Klein rented an unimpressive showroom to exhibit a small line of samples. His big break came when a vice-president at Bonwit Teller stopped at the wrong floor of the building, liked what she saw, and invited Klein to bring his samples to the president's office. Klein wheeled the rack of clothes uptown personally. She placed an order for $50 thousand, which was a huge amount at that time. Encouraged by favorable reviews from the fashion press and the support of store executives, Klein expanded his line to include women's sportswear.
Bonwit's
Professor Hamilton
FSHD 1311
October, 7th 2012
Calvin Klein
An American Designer
By
Neera Bann
Calvin Richard Klein was born and raised in New York City's borough of the Bronx. He decided he wanted to be a fashion designer at an early age, most probably as a result of the influence of his grandmother. Leo and Flora Klein were his parents. They both worked in the grocery business. Flora’s mother, Molly Stern was an accomplished seamstress. She operated a notions shop and tailoring business where Calvin spent a lot of time as a child. (Marsh) Calvin attended P.S 80, a public school that a lot of other famous people attended including Penny and Gary Marshall and Ralph Lauren. (Marsh) At P.S 80 he excelled in art and drawing and upon graduation went to the High School of Industrial Art. After that he attended the Fashion Institute of Technology. (Marsh) After graduating from the Fashion Institute of Technology in 1963, he worked for women's coat and suit manufacturers in Manhattan's garment district before opening his own business in 1968. He did not study with any other notable designers but he relied on his childhood friend Barry Schwartz for career advice. Schwartz loaned him $10,000 in start-up funds and joined the firm a month later, after the family supermarket in Harlem that Schwartz had inherited was gutted in the riots that followed the assassination of Martin Luther King. (Int’l Directory)
Klein rented an unimpressive showroom to exhibit a small line of samples. His big break came when a vice-president at Bonwit Teller stopped at the wrong floor of the building, liked what she saw, and invited Klein to bring his samples to the president's office. Klein wheeled the rack of clothes uptown personally. She placed an order for $50 thousand, which was a huge amount at that time. Encouraged by favorable reviews from the fashion press and the support of store executives, Klein expanded his line to include women's sportswear.
Bonwit's
Cited: Gaines, Steven, and Sharon Churcher. Obsession: The Lives and Times of Calvin Klein. New York: Carol Pubishing Group, 1994. Print. Marsh, Lisa. House Of Klein : Fashion, Controversy, And A Business Obsession. n.p.: John Wiley, 2003. eBook Collection (EBSCOhost). Web. 16 Sept. 2012. Fortune. 1997: n. page. Print. "Volume 55." International Directory of Company Histories. St. james Press, 2003. Print. http://www.notablebiographies.com/Ki-Lo/Klein-Calvin.html. N.p., n.d. Web. 7 Oct 2012. http://www.vogue.co.uk/spy/biographies/francisco-costa-biography. N.p., n.d. Web. 7 Oct 2012. http://www.givingback.org/Programs_Services/GivingBack30_2010.html. N.p., n.d. Web. 7 Oct 2012. http://www.bwf.com/philanthropy-news-report/fit-announces-2-million-gift-from-calvin-klein-largest-gift-received-from-an-fit-alumnus/. N.p., n.d. Web. 7 Oct 2012.. N.p., n.d. Web. 7 Oct 2012.