mark wahlberg calvin klein Calvin Klein didn’t earn its reputation for making cool-kid underwear overnight. John Varvatos pioneered boxer briefs while he was a designer at the brand in the early ‘90s, then introduced them to the world on Marky Mark. A label unafraid to push boundaries, the women’s underwear that followed borrowed from the men’s, with a front-fly opening. The suggestive #mycalvins campaign shot by Harley Weir unveiled last year starring Kendall Jenner and Justin Bieber, and the social-media response it sparked, wasn’t a strike of luck — it’s taken Calvin Klein 30 years to finesse.
The tradition of underwear as part of the Calvin Klein DNA goes back to 1971, when the company expanded from producing coats and added lingerie. The latest #mycalvins advertisements don’t even scratch the surface of the brand’s deeply rooted history in envelope pushing.
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Maybe you’re old enough to remember the snuff-esque Steven Meisel commercials of the ‘90s that got pulled off the air. Before the up-skirt shot, bare-butt selfie and yonic-grapefruit 2016 imagery, Brooke Shields insinuated she wasn’t wearing underwear at all, unbeknownst to her, when she did the shoot at 16. Bieber, Bella Thorne, and a slew of influential celebrities plugged to participate in the campaign carry the torch for a legacy of offensive, or empowering — depending who you ask — marketing.
Italo Zucchelli, a former Jil Sander and Romeo Gigli designer, had collaborated with Calvin Klein for six seasons before he became head designer and Men's Creative Director of the Calvin Klein Collection menswear line in spring 2004.
Kevin Carrigan, an Englishman, was named the global creative director of the ck Calvin Klein, Calvin Klein (white label), Calvin Klein Jeans and Calvin Klein Underwear brands and their related licensed products. Carrigan had been with Calvin Klein since 1998.
In April 2016, it was announced that Francisco Costa and Italo Zucchelli would be leaving the company
In the late 1990s, the company opened elegant Calvin Klein Collection stores in Paris, Seoul, and Taipei and ultra high-end cK Calvin Klein stores in Hong Kong, Milan, and Kuwait City. As of today, all stores are closed. Out of the two Calvin Klein Collection stores that existed in the US, the Dallas location in Highland Park Village which had been open for 20 years was closed in mid-2005. The only international location, in Paris, was closed by PVH in March 2006. The New York store, which serves as the company's flagship store at 654 Madison Ave., permanently closed in spring 2019.
Calvin Klein Jeans stores exist around the globe. Among many other countries in the UK, Germany, Greece, Russia, Brazil, México, Croatia, Egypt, Chile, Argentina, India, the Philippines, Australia and New Zealand. They also offer franchisee and opened in Cali last year.
Signature Calvin Klein Underwear boutiques can be found in Ljubljana, Buenos Aires, Cardiff (as of April 2011), Mexico City, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Melbourne, Hong Kong, London, Manchester, Manila, New York City, Shanghai, Singapore, Frankfurt am Main, Munich, Toronto, Hatfield, and Burnaby,
Type Subsidiary
Industry Apparel, perfume, fashion
Founded 1968; 55 years ago
Founders Calvin Klein, Barry K. Schwartz
Headquarters New York City, U.S.
Area served Worldwide
Key people
Cheryl Abel-Hodges (CEO)
Gene Gosselin (CFO)