by Brandice

“You need to have a vision. A designer, any designer, needs to say something that is different than what’s being said. And then you have to be convincing. Even if you’re not confident, act as though you are confident. That is the only way you can convince people to believe in what you believe in. And that’s not easy. I think repetition is reputation. Think of Ralph Lauren, I mean you know what he does. Donna Karan, the same thing.”

 

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Source: Calvin Klein's Advise to New Designers | Harlem's Fashion Row

Forget designer showrooms in the Garment District, modish stores on Madison Avenue, and the latest haute couture from Paris. The stylish place to be last night was at the 92nd Street Y to hear Calvin Klein speak.

Most know the Jewish fashion designer as a name on a fragrance bottle or a logo emblazoned on a pair of jeans. But yesterday, an audience got to hear from the designer himself, as Klein sat down with New York Fashion Week founder Fern Mallis for a discussion about his life and career.

The evening opened with a short film showing images of Calvin Klein designs, models and ad campaigns in rapid succession: Celebrities such as Kate Moss, Mark Wahlberg and Brooke Shields could each be seen.

Afterward, Klein took center stage, talking candidly about his family: He was born Richard Klein to Jewish-Hungarian immigrants in the Bronx in 1942, and his grandfather had been a dressmaker.

When the name of Ralph Lauren, another mega-designer who was raised in the same immigrant community, came up, Klein coyly remarked that Lauren was “a little older” than he was.

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