“Inside the Life and Homes of American Designer Calvin Klein: From Bronx Roots to Manhattan Penthouses”

Calvin Klein et Ralph Lauren grew up just blocks from each other in Norwood, an underprivileged neighborhood in Bronx. They lived along Mosholu Parkway, Calvin Klein in an apartment at 3191 Rochambeau Avenue, and Ralph Lauren in a building on Kossuth Avenue. The two boys attended the same elementary school and middle school, four years apart. They only knew each other by sight but shared a desire, that of leaving the Bronx. Both used their neighborhood as a driving force to leave, escape and join Manhattanthe hub of creation. After this childhood in the north of New York, Calvin Klein lived in different places in the United States, including several apartments in Manhattan. Back in several vintage shots on his eventful life in his many properties.

A peaceful family life, 1964

In 1964, Calvin Klein married Jayne Center, a designer of textile met a year earlier at the Fashion Institute of Technology. Together they have a daughter, Marci Klein. After ten years together away from the cameras, the couple ended up divorcing in 1974, when the creator’s career was at its peak. Marci Klein will become a television producer, notably famous for her work on the channel NBC and in the show Saturday Night Live.

Calvin Klein, often surrounded by models, 1975

In 1975, Calvin Klein poses with model Lauren Hutton during a photo shoot at her New York apartment. In the photos, the actress is wearing two different outfits, which are taken from the Calvin Klein Fall/Winter 1975 ready-to-wear collection. The first, a green loden blouse and a black flannel wrap skirt. The second, a monochrome outfit consisting of a beige raincoat, layered over a mohair coat with a sweater, skirt and scarf in the same neutral tones. In 2017, when she was 73 years old, actress Lauren Hutton became Calvin Klein’s muse and lingerie muse. Underwearin a black and white video campaign produced by Sophia Coppola.

A loft decorated by Joseph d’Urso 1974

During a fashion report, October 21, 1974, the spring 1974 ready-to-wear collection is photographed in Calvin Klein’s apartment. Inside this light-filled New York apartment, the minimalism triumph. Glass, metal and leather unfold without limit. The living room, decorated by Joseph d’Urso, is one of the first minimalist interiors of the decade. The decorator is known for defining the high-tech aspect of the loft, especially with chrome, glass, leather, rubber and industrial supplies. Here, Joseph d’Urso has chosen furniture signed Marcel Breuer, like the tubular seats. Near the window, several plants add a touch of greenery to the space.

Drunken evenings… 1976

Calvin Klein liked to entertain. On April 20, 1976, for example, the designer organized a big party at his home in New York in honor of Carrie Donovan, American fashion editor for Vogue, Harper’s Bazaar and the New York Times Magazine. Former inveterate night owl and regular client of the famous Studio 54, Calvin Klein has long struggled with addictions to drugs and alcohol. In 1988, the creator notably stayed at the Hazelden rehabilitation center in Minnesota.

55 Central Park West, 1983

For his spring 1983 ready-to-wear collection, Calvin Klein brought the models together in his apartment in duplexon the top floor of 55 Central Park West, in theUpper West Side. The glass walls and windows of the penthouse allow natural light to flood the space. A breathtaking place, which offers striking views of Central Park. The 19-story building, which is the first structure entirely Art Deco from Central Park Avenue West, was built in 1929 by the architectural firm Schwartz & Gross. Many famous people, such as Donna Karan, Ring Lardner Jr. and Marsha Mason lived there, but it was composer Jerry Herman who sold the 19th and 20th floor duplex to Calvin Klein in the 1960s. 1970. Calvin Klein then sold it, then bought it again in the 1990s. The designer hasn’t lived in this apartment since, but he most certainly left his mark there. The penthouse has four bedrooms, four bathrooms and a large modern glass pavilion. Calvin Klein, “for the sake of minimalism”knocked down all the interior walls and installed a rooftop hot tub, according to the New York Times. Since 2014, the apartment has belonged to Marc Lasry, co-founder and CEO of Avenue Capital Group.

Departures on vacation, 1983

In the 1980s, the visibility of the brand exploded. Clavin Klein asks the photographer Richard Avedon to shoot a series of commercials featuring Brooke Shields. The actress, then aged 15, utters this sentence: « Do you know what comes between me and my Calvins? Nothing. » General indignation, which leads the television channels ABC, NBC et CBS to remove advertising. But despite the controversy, the marketing is working and sales are growing. Calvin Klein connects events and parades, he travels. On November 17, 1983, the designer prepares, for example, for a departure from Tokyo. In her New York apartment, Kelly Rector, her creative assistant at the time, helped her plan her trip and pack her bags. In September 1986, Calvin Klein married Kelly Rector at the historic town hall in Piazza Campidoglio, in Rome. Kelly Rector becomes a renowned socialite photographer. The couple separated ten years later, and divorced in April 2006.