Who Owns Calvin Klein?

Calvin Klein was founded in 1968 by Calvin Klein and his childhood friend Barry Schwartz with a $10,000 investment. The brand launched with a coat shop in the York Hotel in New York City, initially focusing on coats and suits. Klein, a graduate of the Fashion Institute of Technology, had previously worked as a coat designer. His designs were characterized by clean lines, minimal detailing, and a sophisticated aesthetic.

The brand gained national recognition in 1973 when Calvin Klein became the youngest designer to win the Coty Award. Throughout the 1970s, the brand expanded into sportswear, lingerie, and swimwear. Calvin Klein's minimalist aesthetic resonated with American consumers who were moving toward cleaner, more understated fashion.

The late 1970s and 1980s marked Calvin Klein's most culturally significant period. In 1980, the brand launched a jeans campaign featuring 15-year-old actress Brooke Shields with the tagline "You want to know what comes between me and my Calvins? Nothing." The campaign generated enormous controversy and publicity, establishing Calvin Klein jeans as a cultural phenomenon. Child advocacy groups criticized the campaign, which was pulled from some television networks.

In the 1980s and 1990s, Calvin Klein expanded into underwear, fragrances, and home goods. The launch of CK One fragrance in 1994 was a major commercial success, becoming one of the best-selling fragrances of the decade. Calvin Klein underwear, featuring the iconic CK logo waistband, became a status symbol and generated significant revenue. Obsession (1985) and Eternity (1988) were also major fragrance successes.

Calvin Klein's advertising campaigns consistently pushed boundaries. The 1995 jeans campaign photographed by Steven Meisel featured models in a basement setting and drew comparisons to amateur pornography, leading to an FBI investigation that was later dropped. The brand's use of provocative imagery became a defining characteristic of its marketing.

In 2003, Calvin Klein sold the company to Phillips-Van Heusen Corporation (now PVH) for approximately $430 million. Calvin Klein remained as creative consultant until 2004 and fully departed the brand shortly after. The sale ended the founder's direct involvement with the brand he had built over 35 years.

Under PVH ownership, Calvin Klein expanded globally. In 2016, PVH hired Belgian designer Raf Simons as chief creative officer. Simons won the CFDA Menswear Designer of the Year and Womenswear Designer of the Year awards in 2017, but his tenure was short-lived. PVH and Simons parted ways in December 2018. The brand eliminated the chief creative officer role and split responsibilities across multiple designers. In 2021, PVH appointed Jessica Lomax as global head of design.

In 2023, PVH began unwinding Calvin Klein's North American apparel license with G-III Apparel Group to take direct control of the brand's North American business. This transition is part of the PVH+ Plan to consolidate brand control and improve product consistency across regions.