Many years ago—before the turn of millennium, if I’m not mistaken—I was in the elevator at 205 West 39th Street and Calvin Klein himself got on. I was a market editor at Women’s Wear Daily at the time and I could not have been more excited if Brad Pitt, a guy Calvin was frequently dressing in those years, was my fellow passenger. I didn’t say a word, I could barely make eye contact. By the time I had seniority enough to review a Calvin Klein show, as I started doing in 2005 when I joined Style.com, Calvin had retired.
And, so, despite the fact that I grew up on Calvin Klein ads and that he didn’t just shape what I thought of as beautiful, he actually propelled me into the world of magazines and fashion, I never had the chance to talk to him until this summer, when he agreed to sit down in the Condé Nast studios for an interview on Vogue’s Run-Through podcast.
I was nervous! Calvin is the designer who dressed America—and the world—in designer jeans and logo underwear. The designer who broke all the rules of luxury advertising and in the process became a household name, be it Brooke Shields asking, “You know what comes between me and my Calvins? Nothing,” or a topless Marky Mark and Kate Moss circling each other for lensman Steven Meisel. The designer whose streamlined slip dresses and sleek suits, even after over 20 years of retirement, still define American minimalism, providing a template for young designers of today.
But you know what? Calvin was utterly game. We talked about his early days in the Bronx (where he lived not far from a young Ralph Lauren), his own first job at Women’s Wear Daily, his quest for perfection, and the keys to his unparalleled success. Two words: Confidence and Drive.
Of his design legacy, he said, “the idea of being modern is the absence of decoration. If the design is good and the shape is good and the silhouette, it doesn’t need a lot of extra stuff to make a person feel better. So I’ve just always believed in stripping it.” More than anything, though, he wanted to talk about the customer: “ I really always thought about the American woman… And times had changed. There was a freedom that women were experiencing. I was very fortunate to be designing at a time and starting a business at a time when it opened up for American designers.” Listen to the complete interview now, and don’t miss our coverage of Veronica Leoni’s sophomore outing for Calvin Klein Collection tomorrow. Naturally, Calvin had thoughts to share on Leoni’s debut, too.
