The company, which became famous for its designer underwear and denim lines in the 1980s, specializes in mass-market ready-to-wear clothing for all genders and age groups as well as leather products, lifestyle accessories and shoes, home furnishings, perfume/cosmetics, eyewear, jewelry and watches in the mid-price segment.

The company was founded by designer Calvin Klein and his childhood friend, Barry K. Schwartz, in 1968[2][3] and was acquired by PVH Corp. for a total of $700 million in 2003.

[8][9] The first Calvin Klein collection was a line of "youthful, understated coats and dresses" featured at the New York City store Bonwit Teller.

[11] The gift was assumed by Schwartz to be part of the upcoming line, and similar logo shirts formed the uniform for the front-of-house staff at Klein's next catwalk show, leading to buyer demand.

[21] In February 2013, Warnaco Group was acquired by PVH for US$2.8 billion, which united Calvin Klein formal, underwear, jeans and sportswear lines.

Simons assumed the creative strategy of the Calvin Klein brand globally across the company's ready to wear, bridge, sportswear, jeans, underwear and home lines.

[33] In January 2017, it was announced that Clémande Burgevin Blachman would assume the role of Vice President of Design for Calvin Klein Home.

Their brand ambassadors, include: Kendall Jenner, Jennie, Hailey and Justin Bieber, Disha Patani, HoYeon Jung, Bella Hadid, Kaia Gerber, Jungkook and Mingyu.

[39][40][41][42][43][44][45][46][47] Calvin Klein has worked with numerous models on advertising and social media campaigns, including: Adwoa Aboah, Jourdan Dunn, Ashley Graham, Imaan Hammam, Karlie Kloss, Simon Nessman, Sean O'Pry, Emily Ratajkowski, Lucky Blue Smith and Liu Wen.

Out of the two Calvin Klein Collection stores that existed in the US, the Dallas location in Highland Park Village which had been open for 20 years was closed in mid-2005.

[60] Partners maintain Calvin Klein Collection stores in Hong Kong, Shanghai, Mumbai, Seoul, Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Bangkok, Dubai, and Qatar.

Among many other countries in the United Kingdom, Germany, Greece, Russia, Brazil, Mexico, Colombia, Croatia, Egypt, Turkey, Chile, Argentina, India, the Philippines, Australia and New Zealand.

[61] Signature Calvin Klein Underwear boutiques can be found in Ljubljana, Buenos Aires, Bogotá, Cardiff (as of April 2011), Medellín, Mexico City, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Melbourne, Hong Kong, London, Manchester, Manila, New York City, Shanghai, Singapore, Frankfurt, Munich, Toronto, Hatfield, and Burnaby (Metro Vancouver).

Some high-end department stores, such as Bergdorf Goodman, Saks Fifth Avenue and Neiman Marcus also carry the Calvin Klein Collection.

Notable retailers in the UK offering Calvin Klein include stores such as John Lewis, Debenhams and KJ Beckett.

In Europe, Calvin Klein is predominantly known for its underwear, accessories and perhaps the Collection business, rather than for the medium-priced sportswear lines which are available at select high-end retail stores.

In Asia, there are also signature ck Calvin Klein stores that carry diffusion line, aka grey label including womenswear, menswear, accessories.

[69] In 2020, the Australian Strategic Policy Institute accused at least 82 major brands, including Calvin Klein, of being connected to forced Uyghur labor in Xinjiang.