CK

Fashion designer Calvin Richard Klein was born in 1942, in The Bronx, New York.

As a young child Klein taught himself to sketch and sew, which soon developed into a passion for art and fashion, later studying apparel design at the Fashion Institute of Technology in Manhattan.

In 1968 Klein and good friend Barry Schwartz joined forces to set up the fashion label "Calvin Klein", beginning with a small coat shop in New York City's "York Hotel" with $2,000 of Klein's money and a $10,000 loan.

It didn't take long to be put on the map, thanks to a chance encounter with a coat buyer from iconic lifestyle department store Bonwit Teller.

Blown away by the selection of trench coats the Calvin Klein shop had on offer, the buyer placed an order for $50,000.

In 1969 Klein featured on the front cover of leading fashion magazine Vogue following the launch of his first collection of Men and Women's coats.

By 1971 Klein had expanded his womenswear collection to include sportswear, blazers and underwear.

During the mid 1970's Klein began a designer jeans craze, by the innovatory use of his name on the back pocket and caused mass controversy in 1979 when Richard Avedon took photographs of Brooke Shields aged 15, for his jeans campaign saying "You know what comes between me and my Calvin's? …Nothing."

Klein nurtured a new phenomenon for underwear in the 1980's with his collection of boxer shorts for men and women.

Global success in the 1980's was drastically reduced by possible financial ruin in the early 1990's when the fashion label faced bankruptcy.

Klein's tenacity, fashion perception and industry through the 1990's restored his global market position and as a testimony to his vision Klein received "America's Best Designer" award for his minimalist designs.

Klein's intuition led him to develop a complete new range of products for the younger, fashion conscious market segment, branded as "ck" by Calvin Klein.

Today Calvin Klein (now owned by shirt maker "Phillips Van Heusen") is one of the world's most successful fashion brands.

Over the last few decades Klein's product portfolio has grown to include scarves, shoes, belts, furs, sleepwear, socks, watches, childrenswear, swimwear, homewear, glasses and sunglasses.

As constant innovators in the design of designer sunglasses "ck" by Calvin Klein are renowned for their clever blend of technological sophistication, fine craftsmanship and comfort with chic contemporary styling.

The "ck" by Calvin Klein designer sunglasses range is designed with fun loving, vibrant, fashion conscious individuals in mind.