Obsession: The Lives and Times of Calvin Klein [Hardcover]

Steven Gaines (Author), Sharon Churcher (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 1994

A candid biography of controversial designer Calvin Klein draws on interviews with friends, business associates, and lovers to trace his dramatic rise to the heights of the fashion world and his self-indulgent personal life. 100,000 first printing. $100,000 ad/promo. Tour.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

This expose is little more than a re-hash of material that has appeared in supermarket tabloids over the years. Born in 1942 in the Bronx, Klein, who from an early age accompanied his mother whenever she shopped for her clothes, by the age of five knew he wanted to be a fashion designer. After attending Manhattan's Fashion Institute of Technology, he apprenticed at several fashion houses. Barely taking time out to marry Jayne Centre and have a daughter, Marci, Klein doggedly pursued success, finally opening his own company in 1968. As his business prospered, his sexual interest in men, which began discreetly, ran out of control. The authors also address Klein's alcohol and drug abuse; his hypochondria and dread of AIDS; the kidnapping of his 11-year-old daughter in 1978; his alleged "borrowing" of ideas from other designers; his divorce and marriage to Kelly Rector (they live in separate apartments); his addiction to the famous nightspot Studio 54 and to its owner, Steve Rubell; and his rehabilitation for alcohol and drug abuse. Gaines ( Simply Halston ) and Churcher ( New York Confidential ) have written a soap opera-ish biography that will be of interest only to fashion mavens. Photos. Author tour.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

Gaines's last book was a warts-and-all portrait of fashion designer Halston ( Simply Halston, LJ 9/15/91) that did little more than show how sadly dissipated a celebrity's life can be. Readers with a taste for the sordid can now immerse themselves in the misery of another fashion all-star, Calvin Klein. Dubbed the "American Yves Saint Laurent," Klein is portrayed as a gifted but insecure perfectionist, scrooge, and hypochondriac. Despite his enormous success--largely due to his gift for self-promotion--he seems to have waged an endless struggle to come to grips with his homosexuality, his dependence on drugs, and, above all, his fear of failure. Although the author describes interesting aspects of the fashion industry, he tends to linger over inconsequential details and drift from subject to subject. His opening pages tell of the kidnapping of Klein's daughter, but the outcome is not revealed for several hundred pages! Recommended only for libraries with popular reading sections.
- Margarete Gross, Chicago P.L.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 414 pages
• Publisher: Carol Pub Group; 1ST edition (April 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1559722355
• ISBN-13: 978-1559722353
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6.2 x 1.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,022,130 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Steven Gaines is the best-selling author of twelve books, including Philistines at the Hedgerow: Passion and Property in the Hamptons; The Sky's the Limit: Passion and Property in Manhattan; The Love You Make: An Insider's Story of the Beatles; and Marjoe, the biography of evangelist Marjoe Gortner.

The big screen version of his biography Simply Halston starring Brendan Fraser is in pre-production with Killer Films.

His weekly radio interview show, Sunday Brunch Live from the American Hotel in Sag Harbor airs during the summer and fall months on WLIU FM Southampton, New York, a National Public Radio affiliate.

His journalism has appeared in Vanity Fair, the New York Observer, the New York Times, Los Angeles, and Worth, and he is presently a contributing editor at New York magazine. His frequent television appearances include "60 Minutes"; "The Today Show"; "CBS Morning News"; and "Good Morning America."

Mr. Gaines is a co-founder and past vice-chairman of the Hamptons International Film Festival.

He lives in a small hamlet on the East End of Long Island.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Dishy and funny, December 25, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Obsession: The Lives and Times of Calvin Klein (Paperback)

A fascinating look into the nooks and cranies of the man, his associates and his world. A fun and fast read.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Dynamite, in depth, more than you wanted to know!, September 24, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Obsession: The Lives and Times of Calvin Klein (Paperback)

Yikes! No wonder why Calvin Klein tried to stop this book, it doesn't let up. The best parts were the kidnapping chapters and all the business stuff. I felt like I was inside the fashion industry--and didn't like it. This book isn't for the squeamish.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars mildly amusing, July 19, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Obsession: The Lives and Times of Calvin Klein (Paperback)

Let's face it, the term "fashion genius" is a contradiction in terms; an oxymoron. But this book is fun in that it has juicey gossip, and shows how much luck was involved in this success story.