Introduction: What Does It Really Matter If Nothing Is Ever New?

Abstract

The name Calvin Klein defines reinvention. In the 1980s, he became a household name by redefining men’s boxers, women’s briefs, and blue jeans as high-end, luxury products for ordinary consumers. Rather than inexpensive utility items, Klein made them the sexiest pieces of clothing in the everyday wardrobe of the everyday person. For over a decade, millions of men and women were easily convinced to purchase his body-hugging jeans and the costly boxers and briefs that prominently bore his name around the waistband. When consumers grew tired of images of celebrities like Mark Walberg and Brook Shields wearing very little apart from strategically placed denim or the iconic waistband, Klein turned his attention to women’s high-end fashion. Starting with a white, barely there, scoop-neck, spaghetti-strapped minidress, worn by Alicia Silverstone in the movie Clueless (1995), the designer has reigned over fashion that is minimalist, monochromatic, contemporary, and modern. What helped Klein to reinvent his brand was the pink, charmeuse, floorlength gown Gwyneth Paltrow wore to the 1996 Academy Awards