Calvin Klein jeans

In 1976 a TV commercial featuring Gloria Vanderbilt wearing blue jeans that she and her business partner, Warren Hirsh, recently put into production, appeared on air during the Academy Awards presentation. Until that moment nobody really thought of jeans as a designer item – they were the workers uniform that originated in Nimes and introduced by Levi Strauss to the American market in 1850s. Even the trendiest bell-bottomed pairs manufactured by Faded Glory and Jordache were hardly in demand among the stylish crowd.

Vanderbilt denims changed it all. Suddenly every woman wanted a pair of jeans with an elegant designer logo on a back pocket. For the fashion industry it felt like an explosion and every designer including Anne Klein, Geoffrey Beene and Bill Blass wanted to have their own line.

Klein toyed with an idea for a while struggling to make the final decision until he was approached by Puritan Fashion, a giant dress company run by Carl Rosen, one of “the kings” in the garment industry who was looking for a designer to license a collection of denim “for the public”.

The deal was signed on 29 June 1977. Calvin Klein and Barry Schwartz were offered one million dollars in cash advantage and guaranteed minimum of one million every year for the life of the contract in addition to the royalties for every pair sold.

Designing the first pair didn’t take long for Klein knew exactly what he wanted - indigo-dyed, 100% cotton, straight legged with a shorter rise to accentuate the shape of the bottom and give the jeans an instant sex appeal.

The very first advertising campaign featured Patti Hansen photographed by Charles Tracy. The image of a beautiful blond showcasing her bottom in a seductive pose caused a real scandal among women’s groups and brought $80 million in sales in the first year.

And then came Brooke and her Calvins.

She was 15 when Sheilds got approached by Calvin Klein with an offer to star in his jeans campaign. Brooke was directed by Richard Avedon to play different roles: “a liberated woman, an actress, a teenager, a vamp”… Kleins idea was to advertise the product without actually focusing on it, but rather sending hidden messages to play with people’s imagination.

It worked. In the first week the company sold 400000 pairs of jeans reaching an astonishing number of 2 million sales in a months and bringing £12.5 million in annual royalties. More over, sensual, provoking, beautiful and clever, those adverts caused both demand and controversy, shaping the image of Calvin Klein as a brand and making the clothes even more desirable.

Brooke Shields herself became somewhat of a celebrity and a star. Her image was associated with jeans so strongly that a few years later she came up with the own line of jeans called “Brookes”.

 

Additional read: a wonderful article from the Interview magazine, Calvin Klein: Fashion Design Superstar, Calvin Klein, Obsession: the Lives and Times of Calvin Klein, The House of Klein: Fashion, Controversy, and a Business Obsession 

Photo source: Natalia Vodianova in Calvin Klein Jeans Spring 2003 campaign, Calvin Klein advertising archives, bwgreyscale.com

 

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Calvin Klein perfumes

The only reason the very first Calvin Klein perfume took a year to be born was the fact that it had to be perfect and different from everything Klein ever smelled before. In fact, the designer disliked any form of perfume or cologne. He never used one himself and strongly associated any other fragrance with his school teachers and mother’s friends. He liked musk and imagined his future creation with a code name “Seventh Avenue” as “something floral but not heavy… that doesn’t hang like a cloud over a woman…”, but any further attempts to find the right formula mixed for him by the best noses of International Flavours & Fragrance (IF&F) lead to nothing – Calvin rejected every single concoction including a completely unique smell that everyone fell in love with. The latest creation was then offered to Ralph Lauren who introduced it as his first fragrance that very same year, while Klein and his team had to start everything from scratch.

It all finally happened when Calvin received a custom-made perfume brought for him from Paris by Frances Stein, a former Vogue editor who, after leaving the magazine, spent several years working for Klein. The romantic notes of jasmine and roses seduced him instantly and the bottle was sent to IF&F to be analysed and reproduced.

It turned out to contain the most expensive oils in the world, which meant that the cost of production and retail price would be much higher compared to any other perfume sold at the time, but for Klein achieving perfection was worth breaking the rules.

He soon went against the crowd yet again refusing to buy cheaper stock cases and bottles. Instead, the smooth, “crying out to be touched”, oval-shaped crystal bottles were manufactured in France to guarantee the best clarity of the glass and perfectly fitted stopped.

The beautiful vial containing most precious gold liquid was then photographed by the one and only Irving Penn who was charmed by the sensual geometry of the bottle.

The job was done.

On 6 March 1978 Calvin Klein Ltd. launched their very first perfume called “Calvin Klein”. Sadly, it wasn’t as successful as Klein hoped and begged to be replaced with something more sensual, more day to night, more… unisex.

Obsession, the new oriental and spicy fragrance, a combination of mandarin, bergamot and subtle notes of jasmine, rose and neroli mixed with coriander, taget, armoise, amber and oak moss created by Rourge-Bertram DuPont and poured into blonde tortoiseshell, tantric sculptures and Indian prayer stones -inspired bottle was launched into production in 1985.

Accompanied by a provocative campaign directed by Richard Avedon and filmed by Nestor Almendros with the print ads shot by Bruce Weber, featuring Jose Borain (who was replaced by “kinder and gentle” Kate Moss in 1990s), the new fragrance was absolutely irresistible and made $30 million in whole sales in its first year.

It was followed by Eternity (the name was inspired by the eternity ring presented by Klein to his second wife, Kelly), a blend of freesia, white lily, muguet, narcissus and sandalwood. The serene black and white campaign was focused on fantasy and family and photographed by Richard Avedon.

CK be came in 1996. Contradiction – in 1997. Truth – 2000. Crave and Truth for men – 2002. Each became a bit of an icon, a signature of its time and a scented memory for many.

 

Photo source: Kate Moss photographed by Mario Sorrenti for Obsession campaign 1992, Calvin Klein Classic perfume campaign photographed by Irving Penn 1978, Obsession campaign photographed by Richard Avedon 1985, Eternity campaign photographed by Richard Avedon, fragrantica.com, calvinklein.com

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Autumn delights

In my books November was always a month of hibernation. It felt as if the world would slow down wrapped in a thick blanket of fogs. It was a month of rain, clouds and cold wind – none of which have never been appealing. And then one day, just an ordinary day, like many other ordinary days, I realised that there’s no point of getting depressed about the weather or lack of sunshine – November, just like any other months of the year, is the time to live and enjoy life as it comes.

All it takes is a few cosy layers that would keep you warm indoors and protect from the elements when the rain and wind seem unbearable, a huge scarf that makes you feel happy, a few scented candles that bring a feeling of warm comfort to your home, a cup of hot cocoa (or chocolate if you like) and a pile of good movies, books and magazines to bury your nose into when the world outside becomes dark and unwelcoming. And then you realise that November isn’t that bad after all and really is worth living, not existing through it.

Photo source: Elle US September 1999, ???, Pirelli Calendar 1995, Vogue Italia March 2000, Max Mara Fall 2004 campaign, Flikr, ???, Michael Aram Candles, Max Mara Weekend Fall 2012 campaign.

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