The Threesome Behind Calvin Klein
Meet the team of fashion designers—Kevin Carrigan, Francisco Costa and Italo Zucchelli—who together have kept the cool of Calvin Klein alive and built the brand into a global juggernaut
ELISA LIPSKY-KARASZ
Dec. 5, 2013 11:39 a.m. ET
HOUSE PROUD | From left: Francisco Costa, Italo Zucchelli and Kevin Carrigan, the creative directors of Calvin Klein’s fashion lines, with longtime house muse Christy Turlington in a Calvin Klein Collection top and skirt. Calvin Klein Collection top, $2,995, and skirt, $1,495, 212-292-9000 Photography by Dan Jackson, Styling by Tina Laakkonen for WSJ. Magazine
ELEVEN YEARS AGO, when Calvin Klein, along with his longtime business partner, Barry Schwartz, sold his company to Phillips-Van Heusen PVH -1.02% (PVH), the designer had just turned 60. In 36 years at the helm of his fashion line, he had gone from selling coats in the now-defunct New York store Bonwit Teller to having his name recognized around the world. In a way, it was time. Klein had endured a bitter lawsuit with his largest licensee, the Warnaco Group, and unbeknownst to the public, his company’s earnings had begun to slip. In the next year, he would give an interview describing his battles with addiction. PVH’s $700 million offer must have seemed like a lucrative reason to lay down his sword. “He’s at the top of his game. He’s a living logotype, and now he wants to rest a bit,” said his spokesman, Paul Wilmot, at the time. But the question everyone outside the company asked was could Calvin Klein Inc., survive without its charismatic founder? Read more of this post
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