Calvin Richard Klein (born November 19, 1942) is an American
fashion designer. In 1968, he launched the company that would later become Calvin
Klein Inc.
In addition to clothing, Calvin Klein also gave his name to
a range of perfumes, including CK One and CK Be (fragrances for both genders), now
owned by Coty Inc. Swatch Group manufactures watches and jewelry under the
Calvin Klein and Calvin Klein Jeans brands.
Born Richard Klein in The Bronx to Jewish-Hungarian immigrants,
he attended the High School of Industrial Art and matriculated, but never graduated,
from New York's
Fashion Institute of Technology, receiving an honorary Doctorate at the
graduation ceremony in 2003. He did his apprenticeship in 1962 at an oldline cloak-and-suit
manufacturer, and spent five years designing at other New York shops. He later launched his first
company with a childhood friend.