Overview
"From Mosholu Parkway to the high fashion salons of Paris and Milan, Lisa Marsh takes us on a Mach-1 ride through the world of Calvin Klein. A well-told tale of a boy from the Bronx who revolutionized fashion and made himself rich, yet somehow failed to make himself happy. The essential, and eternal, morality play of business."
Christopher Byron, author, Martha Inc.
"This is more than the rags-to-riches story of a creative genius peddling perfume and denim. Marsh brilliantly traces how our culture evolved in the last part of the twentieth century, as Calvin Klein pushed us toward his minimalist aesthetic and challenged our puritanism with his sexy advertising."
Richard Johnson, Editor, New York Post’s Page Six
"Lisa Marsh gives us an informed and never-before-revealed look at the inner business workings of one of fashion’s most compelling brands . . . Her blending of business with a backdrop of fashion, tells a fascinating story of an iconic American brand’s struggles and successes, culminating with what seems to be the beginning of a ‘new chapter.’ Even as an industry insider, I found the book to be fresh with a new point of view on one of the most talked about and written about designers in the business."
Reed Krakoff, President/Executive Creative Director, Coach, Inc.
"More than any other designer, Calvin Klein has relied on advertising to create his company’s image. Author Lisa Marsh recognizes the mechanics behind the magic while telling Klein’s rags-to-riches story with style from beginning to end. It’s a compelling read and one you’ll learn from."
Donny Deutsch, Chairman and CEO, Deutsch, Inc.
"Calvin Klein is not just a brilliant, creative designer and groundbreaking marketer . . . Calvin Klein is a company that has grown from wheeling a rack of coats from Seventh Avenue to Fifth Avenue to being the most recognized name in fashion around the world. Lisa Marsh takes you on that fascinating business trip."
Fern Mallis, Executive Director, 7th on Sixth, Vice President, IMG
"Calvin Klein found an opening in men’s underwear and never looked back. Crack fashion scribe Lisa Marsh gets right there in the closet with him."
Ben Widdicombe, columnist, "Chic Happens"
Synopsis
A New York fashion industry analyst traces Klein's 35-year influence on the business and pop culture, from the designer jeans trend to provocative ads (as shown in several examples). She also considers the company's future under its new ownership. Annotation ©2004 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR
Publishers Weekly
Throughout American fashion designer Calvin Klein's 35-year career, he has been "dogged by rumors about his sexuality, illnesses, illicit drug use and shady business dealings," writes New York Post fashion reporter Marsh, who presumably had a front-row seat. Nevertheless, this unauthorized book, which the author refers to as a "business biography," offers little inside information about any of these issues as it tracks Klein and his partner Barry Schwartz's success in creating and transforming Calvin Klein Inc. from a manufacturing company to a design, licensing and marketing firm, which in its last years was averaging earnings of about $3 billion annually. (The company was sold to Phillips-Van Heusen in early 2003.) Marsh presents her material about the company's evolution in chronological order, exploring how it either tapped into or redirected American fashion trends over the past 30 years-including, of course, the placement of logos on everything from T-shirts to underwear. But she explains little about the man behind the initials-and even less about the people he interacted with. All the major players, in fact, are described in tabloid terms. Klein and Schwartz, for example, are repeatedly described as either the "scrappy" or "street-savvy" "duo from the Bronx." Rapper Marky Mark, who was featured in Klein's print advertisements for underwear and jeans, is "the boyish man." And Klein foe Linda Wachner, former CEO of the Warnaco Group Inc. (which licensed Calvin Klein underwear) is described as "the ball-busting blonde." Business readers looking for a quick history of the American fashion scene since 1970 may find this book appealing. However, general readers looking for lifestyles of the rich and famous will be disappointed. (Aug.) Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.