1942-
Fashion Designer

Early Years.

Calvin Klein, in many ways, defined American fashion at the end of the twentieth century. Klein was born in the Bronx, New York, and attended the New York High School of Art and Design. Starting with dresses and coats, he soon branched out into sportswear. In his twenty-five years as a top designer, Klein promoted his vision of minimalism and sophisticated fashions in natural fabrics and colors. Klein formed Calvin Klein Ltd. in 1968 and built his business into a fashion empire over the next three decades, creating women's ready-to-wear and sportswear, menswear, underwear, home furnishings, and fragrances. He once said: "I made a lot of things that go with things."

Form and Function.

Klein's modernist style has been defined as spare, an expression of American style. He once pointed out that, "It's important not to confuse simplicity with uninteresting." His clothes...