From his meager beginnings as an apprentice to a suit manufacturer to opening his own company in 1968, Calvin Klein’s fame as a fashion designer skyrocketed as he branched out from men’s suits and coats into women’s fashions. He was responsible for changing the look of men’s underwear from dull white cotton sold in packages of three, purchased by their mothers or wives, to form fitting, comfortable bright patterned and colored pieces. His Calvin Klein jeans took the same path with much controversy stirred up when 15-year-old Brooke Shields was used in a provocative ad campaign, but the jeans sold over 200,000 pairs the first week they were launched. Now with collections for women, men, jeans, underwear, shoes, accessories, fragrance and products for the home, Calvin Klein is an international household name. In 2002, the company was bought out by Phillips van Heusen estimated at over $700 million. When the new company reformed in 2003, Klein was engaged as consulting creative director, though he has been involving himself in other interests, one of which is his passion for real estate.
With his success and wealth, Klein has put many of his creative talents to work in the homes he has acquired. All labors of love, his homes have ranged from a New York City triplex penthouse to a beach house in Southampton, New York to a waterfront home in Miami Beach, Florida to a Hollywood Hills home purchased in 2015.
Klein recently put his private Miami Beach home on the market with its Zen-like design and an infinity pool that appears to drop off into Biscayne Bay. Indoor/outdoor living areas measure 7,966 square feet with 5,800 square feet enclosed. The interior has five en-suite bedrooms and two half baths, designed to be open and airy. The listing agent is Pablo Alfaro with Douglas Elliman Real Estate, Miami Beach. According to the Fort Lauderdale Daily, the furniture and antiques by designer Axel Vervoordt are included in the sale price of $16 million.
