The Run-Through with Vogue

Episode: Mr. Calvin Klein!
Date: September 11, 2025
Host: Nicole Phelps | Guest: Calvin Klein

Brief Overview

In this special episode, Vogue Runway director Nicole Phelps sits down for an extensive, candid conversation with the legendary designer Calvin Klein. Now 82 and more than two decades into retirement, Mr. Klein reflects on his groundbreaking career, from humble beginnings in the Bronx to pioneering American minimalism and fundamentally reshaping fashion advertising. The conversation explores his creative philosophy, the origins of his iconic brand, unforgettable ad campaigns, business decisions, personal drive, and lasting influence on the industry.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Being Back at Calvin Klein, and Reflections on Retirement

• Veronica Leoni's Debut Show:

  • Calvin attended the Calvin Klein show by new creative director Veronica Leoni, returning to the brand's fashion show front row for the first time since retiring.
    • “It was a little odd sitting there... but exciting to see clothes that were in the feeling of what the brand stands for, but yet taken another step.” (02:32–03:21)
  • Admired Leoni’s talent: “She’s very good, she’s very talented and I’m sure it’s going to do extremely well.” (03:24–03:38)

• Perpetual Reinvention:

  • Calvin resists nostalgia, always focusing on what’s next.
    • “I tended not to look back. My attitude was always, what can we do next that we haven’t done? Or what can we do better?” (03:53–04:40)
  • Advice for students: “Take risk and take a chance and believe in yourself, have confidence… you need all of that to keep doing whatever it is you do.” (04:41–05:09)

2. Early Life and Influences

• Fashion Roots in the Bronx:

  • Fashion was in his family — his mother was fashion-obsessed, grandmother a dressmaker.
    • “She spent all my dad’s money on clothes… My grandmother made clothes for people.” (06:56–07:24)
  • Early passion: “As long as I can remember, I was always interested.” (07:34–07:44)

• Cultural Influences:

  • Inspired by film and Hollywood icons like James Dean—“often the way they dressed in films.” (08:37–09:25)
  • New York upbringing: “Being born here, you are immersed in a language and a culture that exists nowhere else.” (09:58–10:45)

• Practical Training & Early Jobs:

  • Studied art and design in progressive New York schools, attended FIT.
  • Early gig as a copy boy for Women’s Wear Daily—“you just soak it up... It was a wonderful experience.” (11:39–12:24)

3. The Breakthrough: Launching Calvin Klein (1968)

• Bonwit Teller Discovery:

  • Story of his first collection and its serendipitous discovery by Bonwit Teller execs:
    • “Purely by accident, the elevator door opens. A man steps out and into my showroom... I showed him my few samples.” (19:24–19:49)
  • Notable moment: Bonwit Teller’s Mildred Custin offers him double what he asked, he refuses exclusivity out of principle:
    • “It just seemed like this is the right thing to do. And I knew she would understand, and she did.” (21:29–22:32)

• Early Aesthetic: Architectural, Bulletproof, Streamlined

  • “The idea of bulletproof, the fabrics were... strong, they were stiff... they were architectural.” (23:56–24:17)
  • “The idea of them being modern is the absence of decoration.” (24:31–24:58)

• Relationship with Vogue

  • Early Vogue support; first cover in 1969.
    • “It was a total different time... Nikki was a great, wonderful influence on my work, my life.” (25:25–27:06)

4. Partnerships, Peers, and New York’s Impact

• Barry Schwartz:

  • Klein details his lifelong partnership—“he started paying for [the samples], and the business partnership began right from day one.” (27:57–29:33)

• Donna Karan & Ralph Lauren:

  • On growing up in the same Bronx neighborhood: “He always dressed funny. I mean, he dressed the part that he played all these years and still does. I was dressing like James Dean.” (29:50–30:11)
  • On New York’s competitive, creative environment: “It’s something about New York. It’s something about being competitive. It’s something about being Jewish, all of those aspects… But you have to have confidence.” (30:23–30:55)

• Sportswear Revolution:

  • “The women who really impressed me and influenced me were the ones who were busy working…. American designers were influenced by American women and still are.” (15:45–16:19)

5. Game-Changing Products: Jeans, T-Shirts, and the Power of the Logo

• Logo T-Shirt Origins:

  • Debunked story of early CK T-shirts for fashion show staff—Klein can’t remember specifics but endorses the tale (34:29–35:14)
  • Philosophy: “I always liked the idea... of having the name associated with products that are not expensive... that’s why I started doing jeans, because I loved them.” (35:19–35:55)

• Jeans & Cultural Timing

  • “Often it takes just one designer in fashion to start something, and then everyone... That happened with underwear, too.” (36:12–36:44)

6. Advertising That Changed the Game

• Brooke Shields and “Nothing Comes Between Me and My Calvins”

  • Intentionally provocative, knew exactly what they were doing with the campaign (37:21–37:48)
  • “The writing had so much to do with it. When she said, ‘You know, what comes between me and my Calvins? Nothing.’ People got crazy.” (38:35–39:09)
  • Impact: “It sold denim like mad, because that created the image that we wanted… your parents wouldn’t like it.” (39:09–39:42)

• Building an In-House Ad Agency

  • Ran CRK as his own ad agency, obsessed with ad placement and messaging.
    • “I used to watch TV just to decide where to advertise... I chose all the space on air and in print for fragrance, for denim, for underwear.” (40:08–40:41)

• Studio 54:

  • Calvin recalls the legendary era: “It was a period of freedom, every kind of freedom, and it’s never really been the same again.” (41:04–41:48)

7. Fragrance and Underwear—Expanding the Brand

• Revolutionizing Fragrance:

  • Fragrance as identity: “A woman bought a fragrance and she attached her identity to the fragrance... That stopped. And we and other American designers maybe stopped it.” (42:58–43:55)
  • On campaign controversies: “I took chances.” (44:32–44:46)

• Sexualization and Sensuality in Advertising

  • “Calvin’s pictures were always about skin.” (48:00–48:31, Bruce Weber quote)
  • Underwear innovation: combining men’s elastic branding with women’s pieces—a pivotal moment.
    • “No one did anything like that... There was a tremendous overlap between what we were doing for both sexes.” (48:56–50:12)
  • CK runway shows with real people (not just models): “It was the image... not how she turned her body and did a half U turn... Just walk like you’re walking down the street.” (51:19–52:34)

8. American Minimalism and Industry Impact

• Vogue calls him "Mr. Clean":

  • “Vogue has a good way of crystallizing all of these thoughts.” (53:31–53:37)

• Influencing Others:

  • Calvin doesn’t track his imitators: “When you’re not doing it day to day... it becomes a little less important.” (53:56–54:13)
  • The relentless pursuit of perfection fostered a highly intense environment: “There is no perfection. But we strive for something that you can’t get anyway... that creates sometimes an atmosphere... that’s tough.” (55:00–55:41)

• Legacy and Brand Evolution After Selling the Company

  • Klein sold his brand in the early 2000s; he underestimated the difficulty of not being able to control all the creative decisions:
    • “I was used to running the show and suddenly offering an opinion and not everyone running to do it... was a bit of a shock.” (57:05–58:11)
  • On seeing his name everywhere: “A little odd because I would change it... I don’t know that it would be any better, but it would be different.” (59:56–60:39)

• Store Redesign Misstep:

  • On the Madison Avenue flagship redesign: “That turned out to be a mistake. Mistakes happen... but it has to be better.” (61:15–61:34)

9. On Success, Advice, and American Fashion Today

• No New “Big Three” in NYC

  • There isn’t a new class of Calvin/Ralph/Donna: “Maybe that’s because it’s a different era.” (65:07–65:23)

• Legacy of Confidence and Drive

  • On what it takes to succeed now:
    • “You need to believe in yourself before anyone’s going to believe in you. Even if you have doubts, don’t show them. Be confident, act confident.” (65:33–66:10)
  • On replenishing ambition:
    • “If you have it, you have it... I was driven because I never thought we got to where I wanted to be anyway. I thought we still needed to work harder, do it better, and that’s drive.” (67:24–67:43)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “In the fashion business, things change so quickly that you don’t think of what you already did... What can we do next that we haven’t done? Or what can we do better?” — Calvin Klein (03:53)
• “My attitude was always, what can we do next that we haven’t done? Or what can we do better? And this is the advice that I give students... Take risk and take a chance and believe in yourself, have confidence, because you need all of that.” — Calvin Klein (04:41)
• “She said, ‘Mr. Klein, I will pay you such and such.’ Which was double the cost of what I was asking for. She says, ‘Just make the clothes look like this, and I want them exclusive.’ I said, ‘I can’t do that.’” — Calvin Klein on Bonwit Teller (21:29)
• “I always liked the idea... of having the name associated with products that are not expensive. I mean, that’s why I started doing jeans.” — Calvin Klein (35:19)
• “When she said, ‘You know, what comes between me and my Calvins? Nothing.’ People got crazy. It sold denim like mad, because that created... the image that we wanted...” — Calvin Klein (38:35–39:09)
• “It was a period of freedom, every kind of freedom, and it’s never really been the same again.” — Calvin Klein on Studio 54 (41:04)
• “I like to think I have an eye for beauty, and that could be female or male. I used to find people driving along Sunset Boulevard, and I would stop the car and introduce myself.” — Calvin Klein on models (46:18)
• “There is no perfection. But we strive for something that you can’t get anyway. And I think doing that creates sometimes an atmosphere of work that’s tough.” — Calvin Klein (55:00)
• “You need to believe in yourself before anyone’s going to believe in you... Even if you have doubts, don’t show them. Be confident, act confident.” — Calvin Klein (65:33)

Timestamps for Key Segments

• 02:32 – Calvin discusses being at Veronica Leoni’s debut for Calvin Klein
• 04:41 – Advice for students about taking risks
• 06:56–07:44 – Fashion influences from family background
• 19:24–22:32 – The Bonwit Teller discovery story and holding his ground
• 23:56 – Describing the original Calvin Klein look as “architectural and bulletproof”
• 35:19–35:55 – Thinking behind logo T-shirt and jeans expansion
• 37:21–39:09 – Brooke Shields ad campaign and its impact
• 41:04 – Reflections on Studio 54 era
• 42:58–44:46 – Fragrance business and bold marketing decisions
• 48:00–48:31 – Bruce Weber’s “about skin” observation, Klein’s take
• 55:00–55:41 – Klein on striving for perfection, intensity of work environment
• 57:05–58:11 – Reflections on selling the company and identity post-sale
• 65:33–66:10 – Core advice for new designers: “believe in yourself”

Tone & Language

The mood was both nostalgic and analytical, blending personal anecdotes with Klein’s direct, sometimes wry, straightforward delivery. Nicole Phelps engaged with warmth, respect, and the curiosity of a true industry insider. The conversation maintained a spirit of honesty and constructive critique, both pragmatic and occasionally reflective about the unpredictability of fashion, business, and legacy.

Conclusion

This episode offers a rare, comprehensive portrait of Calvin Klein—his design ethos, business acumen, and cultural impact. His reflections on American fashion’s evolution, legendary advertising, and the psychological realities behind enduring careers offer timeless, practical advice for the new generation of designers, industry veterans, and fashion enthusiasts alike.