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Frames Direct > Eyewear Library >
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For Calvin Klein, eyewear and sunwear are
an integral part of his lifestyle mix. The
man responsible for both the designer jean
phenomenon of the late ?70s and making tighty
whities high fashion has fueled that same
intensity of innovation and clean contemporary
design in his eyewear collection with Marchon
Eyewear.
"I have a belief
in design that runs throughout all of the
products we do?for apparel, for home accessories?it?s
about contemporary, modern design,"
explains Klein. " It?s a whole
lifestyle."
Even after a decade, the designer is still
excited about the frame game. "Eyewear is
something I?ve always had special feelings
for," says Klein. "I love sunglasses. I used
to collect all kinds of antique eyewear myself.
It really is a wonderful way of expressing
a designer?s sensibility. It?s our 10th year
in business [with Marchon] and it?s something
I?m still close to and passionate about."
And he views eyeglasses as a significant part
of the world of fashion. "I think eyewear
is right up there with makeup and cosmetics,
footwear and handbags," says Klein. "It?s
a really key accessory for both a woman and
a man. For a man it may be his only accessory
besides a watch. Frames, for both sun and
ophthalmic, tell a lot about the person."
Klein has nothing but praise for Marchon.
"I think of Marchon as business partners,"
says the designer. "What I try to do in every
business where we don?t manufacture the product
ourselves is to find the best in that industry?the
expert. Marchon has been right on the top
of that list. I?ve been fortunate enough to
work with them. They truly understand what
the brand stands for and that?s key.
 Whatever
we try to do, nothing is too much. They?re
ready to make it happen." Calvin Klein would
know about making things happen. He has been
on the track for fashion success from the
get go. Born in the Bronx in 1942, he attended
the New York High School of Design and later
graduated from the Fashion Institute of Technology
(more commonly known as F.I.T.) in 1962. In
1968, he along with childhood friend and business
partner Barry K. Schwartz, founded Calvin
Klein, Inc. with a line of women?s coats.
As the infamous story goes, Mildred Custin,
a buyer from Bonwit Teller, discovered Klein
when she accidentally got off on the wrong
floor and wandered into his workroom. Impressed
by his coats, she placed an order and the
young designer?s career was officially launched.
Klein added a women?s sportswear line in the
early ?70s. His idea was to take the stuffy
world of designer clothing and make it young.
He began experimenting with denim for women
and introduced Calvin Klein Jeans in 1978.
The famous Brooke Shields commercial ran in
1980? often misquoted, Shields looks at the
camera and asks: "Do you know what comes between
me and my Calvin?s? ? Nothing." Turning what
was a necessity into a fashion statement,
he debuted his men?s underwear line in the
mid ?80s prompting other designers to follow
suit after its great success. Klein gained
true cultural icon status when Michael J.
Fox?s character in a scene from the hit movie
"Back to the Future" was mistakenly called
"Calvin Klein"?the name on his underwear band.
Always an innovator, the designer created
the first-ever unisex fragrance, cK One in
the early ?90s. His work has garnered him
a host of Council of Fashion Designers of
America (CFDA) Awards for both his women?s
and men?s fashions including several designer
of the year honors and a recent lifetime achievement
award.
But with all his lines and licenses the designer
still maintains a consistent flow for each
product bearing his moniker. "We design everything
that has the name Calvin Klein," he says.
"So it comes from us. The shapes, materials
and colors that we create?we are thinking
of everything we love. The same way we create
our colors for cosmetics or home furnishings
there is a synergy and a whole lifestyle surrounding
it."
 That
synergy is apparent in Calvin Klein Eyewear?s
Fall 2002 collection, which centers on the
bold and the beautiful. "I?m thinking a lot
about glamour and bold strong shapes. Frames
that read luxury and glamour," he says. "We?ve
been working with titanium and acetates in
really modern colors and blends. We?ve been
combining color and shine in really interesting
ways. In ophthalmic, as far as color we have
great new orchids and olives, ruby red, peach
and midnight as well as turquoise. There?s
layering of color in acetates and very innovative
combinations of garnet and quartz, and indigo
and steel?all with a high shine. In sun we
have new tinted flash lenses with shimmer.
We used such colors as crystal gray and turquoise.
For men we have a great oversized aviator."
A celebrity in his own right,
Klein says he keeps his designs focused on
real men and women. "I don?t think in terms
of celebrities when I design. Everything I
do is inspired by the American woman and man.
How they think and how they look."
He adds, however, if pressed to name two stars
that are perfect candidates for his designs
they would be Julia Roberts and Gwyneth Paltrow.
"They have worn everything we?ve done
over the years."
The secret of Calvin Klein?s longevity in
the fickle fashion industry most likely lies
in his mantra of modernity and simplicity.
"Our philosophy has to do with contemporary
modern design for people of any age," explains
Klein. "It?s really about an attitude and
it does have to do with simplicity and taste
and sophistication."
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| Reprinted Courtesy 20/20 magazine
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|  | Scott Z. from Chicago IL
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