Let us all give Calvin Klein a round of applause for making an entire generation fantasize about having Greek sculpture abs. The very first image that pops in your mind when the iconic American brand is mentioned is arguably of a buff Mark Wahlberg, then known as "Marky Mark," flexing in CK boxers. Men wanted to be him and women, well, let's just say their infatuation with the multi-talented heartthrob went beyond his form-fitting undies.

Klein began his illustrious fashion career in the Big Apple, where he was born and raised. Klein's creativity stemmed from his mother, who exposed him to the arts at a young age. Rather than play with other kids, he would join his mom as she shopped all over the city—dedication in it's purest form. Eventually, Klein fell so deeply in love with designing that he taught himself how to sketch and even sew.

After graduating from the Fashion Institute of Technology in 1962, Klein immediately began working as an apprentice who sketched designs from the European runways for coat mogul Dan Millstein. Back in those days, it wasn't considered plagiarism to rip off overseas threads because American designers weren't conjuring up extravagant ideas. Those unfortunate circumstances served as a springboard for Klein as he was determined to fulfill his childhood dream of becoming a successful fashion designer. In 1968, Klein partnered up with his longtime comrade Barry Schwartz and founded Calvin Klein Limited, a coat shop in New York's York Hotel.

At his humble establishment Klein only offered stylish coats, but that all changed after an unlikely encounter with a coat buyer from one of the biggest department stores at the time, Bonwit Teller. The buyer was so impressed with Klein's jackets that he placed an astounding $50,000 order. Nearly a year later, Klein appeared on the cover of Vogue, which propelled him to becoming a household name.

In 1973, Calvin Klein gave birth to American leisurewear when he created his minimalistic sportswear line filled with youthful silhouettes and colors. Furthermore, classic blazers and lingerie were added to his women's collection and by the late 1970s, the New York-bred designer had become the undisputed king of underwear. Later, Klein introduced a highly-successful line of boxer shorts for women and a men's underwear collection, which would later gross $70 million in a single year, revolutionizing marketing as a whole along the way. In his own words: "The only way to advertise is not focusing on the product."

On August 2, 2016, Raf Simons was appointed by Calvin Klein personally to become his brainchild's Chief Creative Director. The prosperous Belgian designer famously started his fruitful design career making furniture, but after attending Martin Margiela's 1991 runway show during Paris Fashion Week, he was magically swayed to dive into the wonder realm of fashion design, eventually launching his much-praised, eponymous menswear line in 1995. Simons continued to exercise his unmatched stylistic approach by becoming the creative director at Jil Sander and then Dior.

Klein's executive decision was so clutch because Simons is considered to be "one of the great talents of his generation." Furthermore, they both share a captivating youthful and minimal aesthetic in their respective garments. As CCO of Calvin Klein, Simons will oversee the design of both the men's and women's ready-to-wear collections, as well as the entire Calvin Klein portfolio, which encompasses supporting lines such as Calvin Klein Jeans and CK Calvin Klein. Additionally, Simons will be charged with overseeing all brand imagery, including advertisements, plus aspects such as store design and global marketing.

Although Simons is more than seasoned for the challenge, there has been major speculation that he will be collaborating with his longtime best friend and world-renowned artist, Sterling Ruby on a forthcoming project for Calvin Klein. The two art buddies met back in 2005 and since then have worked together multiple times. Ruby is praised for his bold, multi-faceted art pieces, which examine the psychological space where individual expression confronts social constraint. No concrete information has been revealed on what their latest wishful joint venture will be, but many are saying that Simons has brought on Ruby to spice up Calvin Klein's Madison Avenue Flagship. That hypothesis is not a far cry from reality when you consider the fact that Ruby revamped Simon's own Tokyo store in 2008. Another possibility is that the pair will be working on rejuvenating Calvin Klein's runway collection. According to Simons' CK team, he will be focused on expanding Calvin Klein's high-end fashion business.

Simons is scheduled to make his Calvin Klein debut during the Fall 2017 season and additionally will be showing his latest Raf Simons menswear collection as part of the third edition of New York Men's Fashion Week on February 1st. The future sure looks bright for all parties involved.

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Tags: calvin-klein, raf-simons