Klein, Calvin (Richard)

US fashion designer, founder of Calvin Klein Inc., who became known for his simple clothing lines and perfume items. He founded the company in 1968, popularized designer jeans in the 1970s, and revolutionized fashion advertising in the 1980s.

In the 1970s Klein moved into leisurewear, and designed jeans with his logo on the back pocket, which achieved huge popularity, partly through the advertising campaign used to promote them. Facing bankruptcy in 1992, Klein was bailed out by Hollywood producer David Geffen. He turned the company around with a new clothing line called CK and a new perfume added to the Obsession and Eternity ranges. The company was acquired by the Phillips-Van Heusen Corporation in 2002.