Born
Richard Klein in
The Bronx to
Hungarian-Jewish immigrants, he attended the
High School of Industrial Art and he graduated, at 20 years of age, from New York's
Fashion Institute of Technology. He did his apprenticeship in 1962 at an oldline cloak-and-suit manufacturer, and spent five years designing at other New York shops. He later launched his first company with a childhood friend.
Klein was one of several design leaders raised in the
Jewish immigrant community in the Bronx,
New York along with
Robert Denning and
Ralph Lauren. Calvin Klein became a
protégé of
Baron de Gunzburg through whose introductions he became the toast of the New York elite fashion scene, even before he had his first mainstream success with the launch of his first jeans line. Later, speaking in an interview with
Bianca Jagger and
Andy Warhol for
Interview magazine, published not long after the Baron's death, Klein said: "He was truly the greatest inspiration of my life... he was my
mentor, I was his protégé. If you talk about a person with style and true elegance-- maybe I'm being a snob, but I'll tell you, there was no one like him. I used to think, boy, did he put me through hell sometimes, but boy, was I lucky. I was so lucky to have known him so well for so long." Calvin Klein was immediately recognized for his talent after his first major showing at New York Fashion Week. Klein was hailed as the new
Yves Saint-Laurent, and was noted for his clean lines.
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