Calvin Klein

Klein married textile designer Jayne Centre, whom he had known since childhood, and they had a daughter, television producer Marci Klein. The marriage ended in divorce in 1974. He later married his assistant Kelly Rector in 1986, and their divorce was finalized in 2006 after a long separation.

Klein dated model Nicholas Gruber from 2010 to 2012. He has been in a relationship with model Kevin Baker since 2016. Klein has also spoken openly about intimate relationships with both women and men, without assigning a specific label to his sexual identity. He sought treatment for drug and alcohol abuse in Minnesota in 1988 and later completed another rehabilitation program in Arizona.

Calvin Richard Klein grew up in the Bronx, New York City, in a Jewish family with Hungarian and Ukrainian immigrant roots. He studied at New York's High School of Art and Design and the Fashion Institute of Technology, and he began an apprenticeship with cloak-and-suit manufacturer Dan Millstein in 1962. He then spent several years designing for New York shops.

In 1968, Klein founded his first company with his childhood friend Barry K. Schwartz. Schwartz provided financial backing and managed the business while Klein led the design and artistic direction. Klein initially worked from a small showroom and gained an important early order from Bonwit Teller after a buyer saw his coats and dresses. His first New York Fashion Week show brought attention to his simple, clean-lined designs, and Baron de Gunzburg helped introduce him to New York's fashion elite.

Klein first became recognized for women's coats, suits, dresses, and interchangeable sportswear separates. His designs emphasized streamlined shapes, restrained colors, comfortable construction, and a minimalist look. During the late 1970s, he introduced menswear and moved his women's designs toward softer, more sensual materials, including satin, silk, cashmere, linen, and crepe de chine.

In 1974, Klein introduced a tight-fitting jeans line that helped establish designer denim as a major fashion category. The brand expanded into underwear in 1982, followed by swimwear, hosiery, eyewear, accessories, cosmetics, fragrances, watches, jewelry, and home goods. Obsession and Eternity became two of the label's prominent fragrances, while the Calvin Klein Underwear campaigns helped turn men's underwear into a designer product.

Klein's advertising became a defining part of the brand. A campaign featuring 15-year-old Brooke Shields in Calvin Klein jeans used the line, "Nothing comes between me and my Calvins," and attracted significant public attention. Later campaigns featuring young models drew criticism and legal scrutiny, leading the company to withdraw some advertisements. The brand's provocative imagery also featured models and performers including Kate Moss, Christy Turlington, and Mark Wahlberg, and photographers such as Richard Avedon, Irving Penn, Herb Ritts, Mario Testino, and Bruce Weber.

Klein received Coty Awards for womenswear in 1973, 1974, and 1975, becoming the first designer to win the award three consecutive times. He also received multiple Council of Fashion Designers of America awards and an honorary doctorate from the Fashion Institute of Technology in 2003. Klein and Schwartz sold Calvin Klein Inc. in 2003, and Klein retired from design the following year while maintaining an advisory role for the company for a period. In 2017, he published Calvin Klein, a survey of his career containing photographs and anecdotes.