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Growing Up

Klein, born November 19, 1942, was taught by his mother to love fashion. He would often accompany her when she went shopping in New York City for affordable clothes. From an early age he knew he wanted to be a fashion designer, and taught himself how to sketch and sew.

Before he turned twenty, he graduated from the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York. He married Jayne Centre and began working as an apprentice sketching European coat designs for his employer Dan Millstein to copy. Klein, however, disdained the idea that the normative American practice was to imitate European fashion and longed to start his own company. He believed that original fashion ideas could come out of the States and he was just the innovator to make it happen. But the realization of his dream seemed a long way away since he was struggling financially and was working part-time at his father’s grocery store in order to make some extra money

Starting The Business

Calvin Klein Ltd. was formed in 1968. Klein took a $10,000 loan from a friend and used $2,000 of his own money to get it started. Rather than hunting out success, it stumbled upon him. His first order came from a coat-buyer for the large department store Bonwit Teller who got off the elevator on the wrong floor and saw Klein’s work. The buyer was impressed and ordered $50,000 worth of coats. In addition, an editorial praising Klein’s designs was written up in Vogue. Klein’s reputation was quickly established.

Five years after starting Calvin Klein Ltd., Klein moved away from solely designing coats and offered women a less-expensive alternative to the ostentatious European fashions with sportswear that could be identified as having “The Calvin Klein Look”. Men also were drawn to Klein’s comfortable outfits and masculine designs.

He was recognized for his accomplishments by being awarded the Coty award by the fashion press in 1973, 1974, and 1975, and his wealth grew as the public continued to buy his subdued clothing. But success troubled his home life and Klein and Centre divorced in 1974. Klein embarked on a period of partying and irresponsibility. By now a prominent public figure, Klein could be found nightly at Studio 54, but his days of unconcerned ease ground to a halt in 1978 when his daughter Marci was kidnapped. Marci returned home safely, but the incident frightened Klein enough to turn away from the publicity he once so doggedly sought.

Building An Empire

It was through a titillating ad campaign in 1980, featuring a 15-year old Brook Shields in a pair of tight-fitting jeans and the line “Nothing comes between me and my Calvins,” that pushed Calvin Klein Ltd. forward once more. This now much-emulated, sexually driven method of advertising was at once condemned by feminists, calling it pornographic. However, through this experience Klein learned that there is no such thing as bad press; in their first week, an astonishing 200,000 pairs of the tight-fitting Calvins were sold. In 1982, Klein was taken to court over an ad campaign featuring men wearing nothing but briefs embossed in the Calvin Klein name. Though some magazines refused to print the ads, the underwear sold incredibly well.

Due to the appearance of AIDS and the affect this had on the promiscuousness of the 1970s, the demand for the sexy, body-hugging jeans declined. The debt Klein had amassed by 1984 nearly toppled his fashion empire. Using $80 million in junk bonds, Klein refinanced the debt, leaving his company at great risk.

Klein married again in 1986. However, addicted to vodka and Valium around this time, Klein was admitted to a rehab centre in the Caribbean. By the time he got out, bankruptcy was imminent, but David Geffen, a friend from Klein’s days partying at Studio 54, helped him out financially and gave him the chance to begin again.

Saved from ruin, Klein went immediately to work churning out a variety of products. The CK brand of more affordable designer clothing, and, like Richard Branson, licencing the Calvin Klein name to sunglasses and other fashion accessories pulled the fledgling Klein back out on top.

Again controversy around one of Klein’s ad campaigns in 1995 prompted the FBI and Justice Department to investigate Klein for violating child pornography laws. Klein stopped the campaign, and eventually the Justice Department’s ruling came down in his favour.

With CK perfume and his CK jeans a success and money pouring in once again, Klein is undoubtedly the picture of a survivor who could have self-destructed, but because of a wealth of good ideas coupled with good fortune and diligence, he has become one of the world’s foremost fashion designers.

Evan is an entrepreneur and international speaker. At the age of 19, he became an owner and Chief Operating Officer in Redasoft, a biotechnology software company. The company quickly grew to over 300 organizations as clients, including NASA and Johnson & Johnson, in 30 countries. He started Evan Carmichael & Associates with the goal to give entrepreneurs the Inspiration to follow their passion and the strategies they need to succeed. Evan has delivered over 100 keynote presentations to entrepreneurs in North America, Europe, and Asia. He has been interviewed by newspapers, radio stations, and television stations including The Globe and Mail, CHUM FM, CityTV, Global TV, OMNI TV, Enterprise, and the Toronto Sun.

Designing your own jeans is the best way to express your personality and sense of style. Have you ever tried on jeans that fit great, but aren’t what you are looking for? Have you ever found the perfect style of jeans, but they don’t fit well? Here is the answer; find the jeans that fit right and make them into the style that screams your personality. I have a sure way to make any jeans look the way you want, as long as they fit. Take your old jeans that you love and revive them with your current style. Its easy and it is actually fun!

To start customizing your own denim you only need one tool. It is called a Dremel, and it will change your life. Trust me, I am not affiliated with this company but it is an amazing tool for many different applications. It is a high speed, ,low torque drill that has many different attachments for grinding. These attachments are important because these let you customize how your jeans will look. You can use anything that is a substitute of this tool as well, but a Dremel is the industry standard. With this tool I will take you through the steps to make the most fashionable jeans that cannot be bought for any price. I have altered many pairs of jeans and I get asked all the time “Where did you get those jeans?”

First, find a brand that you love…that fits perfectly. It should be designer, but you can use any brand you like. The more custom a jean is, the more expensive. So we are going to target buying a designer jean like Seven or Diesel in their most basic form. This may cost $80-$120 but it is well worth it if you are fashion conscious. Gap jeans are still a great alternative. When you have a color and fit that you like you can begin the process of elevating you look.

Next, is your research. Look at jeans that you love and study what makes them fashionable. Where are they faded and ripped? This is important because you will be doing this yourself. Also keep in mind what you would do differently when you look at a pair of designer jeans. You will be in control of your exact look. Designers have to make a line to fit many different tastes. You are making clothes to fit your taste, which is unique.

Take the jeans that you love and make sure you launder them first. Laundering you clothes ensures that the fit is correct. Now you can take your Dremel and use a wide sandpaper attachment. Turn it on to about 2000-3000 rpms and start roughing up the front pockets edge. This is a great place to start because you always want a distressed look on the pockets, and it will give you a feel for how the tool distresses your denim. Be very light as you touch the fabric with the Dremel. You can always distress more, but you cannot undo what is done already. Then you are ready to distress the back pockets. Go around the edge of the back pockets to give them a worn feel. Make any distresses around the back that you may like.

It is important that you remember to be light with you pressure. A Dremel works because it spins so fast. Let the tool do the work. When you are pressing on an open area like the knees, go though until you see the horizontal threads. You can open up more at the knees, but most areas you still want coverage. Also remember to do the edges of the bottom of your jeans. This is very important because any distressed denim is first faded at the bottom of the leg unless it is cropped to a shorter length. The key is to have high impact areas distressed first and then to add the touches that you see fit. This is a great way to save money, have fun and to have clothing that is unique as your style.