Calvin Klein was arguably America's first rock star designer. He grew up in the Bronx, sketching designs as a kid, then kept up his interest in fashion as a student at High School of Art and Design, later heading off to FIT. His first break came when a buyer from Bonwit Teller, getting off an elevator at a wrong floor, stumbled upon Klein's start-up showroom of a dozen or so samples—a meeting that landed Klein a $50,000 order. From there, Klein produced his first sportswear collection in 1973, a jeans line in the late '70s, and a menswear collection soon following. He struck a number of licensing deals in the '80s, creating buzz with a series of racy commercials to promote them. The success of Klein's underwear line, combined with the peak of the designer-jeans fad, brought huge revenues to the company in the late '80s. However, the company suffered a number of financial problems in the recession of the early-'90s, nearly filing for bankruptcy before being bailed out by Klein's buddy David Geffen. The later '90s saw a return to profitability, particularly after the introduction of CK, a lower-priced, youth-oriented line. In 2002, Klein sold the brand to Phillips-Van Heusen, effectively divorcing himself from his company, though he remains a prominent figure in the fashion world still. He has kept a complicated personal life along the way, marrying twice to two women yet also having numerous semi-public relationships with men (younger male models in particular). He and his first wife had a daughter, Marci Klein, who's now a TV producer at Saturday Night Life.

Calvin Klein has always been a fan of drugged-up stars, but this morning's announcement that the designer picked Eva Mendes to star in his Spring `09 fragrance campaign makes him look less like a "fan," and more like a druggie Obsessive (uh, get it?). Klein, of course, is not only the man behind those heroin chic denim ads featuring (ahem!) Kate Moss in the 90s, but he's also been in and out of the revolving rehab door once or twice himself. While TMZ reports that the designer's decision to feature Eva in ads for the spring spreads came hours before her announcement, we're starting to wonder if Klein isn't just some pill-popping, powder-snorting design wiz like the rest of 'em.

• This would explain why the hollandaise sauce had a little extra kick; four employees were fired from Bistro Du Vent for having a wild orgy on the top of the bar. [Page Six]
• Mary-Kate Olsen — we know her as "MK," because we've got our finger on the pulse — might be modeling for Calvin Klein. Clothes, we think. [Scoop]
• Justin Timberlake wins court case against British tabloid. What, with this and his sudden ability to grow a beard, this kid, he's going places. [R&M (third item)]
• Jerry Seinfeld on a kid-every-two-years pace. He now has enough children to write a wacky sitcom about their romantic foibles and the little things in life that nobody ever notices, like why Grape Nuts are neither grapes nor nuts. [Page Six]
• If you write about something weird that Liza Minnelli does, does it even count as gossip? Or is it simply the way of the universe? [Lowdown]

As New Yorkers (or, more likely, tourists) continue to ogle at Calvin Klein's Super Fantastic Live Billboard Adventure, a reader is reminded of an overheard conversation during last week's sample sale at Hollywould:

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· Stuff Editor Greg Gutfeld hired three midgets posing as Stuff writers to crash the American Society of Magazine Editors forum on "What Gives a Magazine Buzz." [Page Six]
· Director Kevin Smith is furious that the media is confusing his "Ben and J-Lo" movie Jersey Girl with that other "Ben and J-Lo" movie Gigli. [Page Six]
· Kelly Osbourne, biting the hand that feeds her family's reality TV show: "MTV makes me sick to my stomach...MTV only plays 35 videos a week. They used to be all about breaking new artists." [NY Daily News]
· Calvin Klein hasn't been seen in the office in a month and blindsided Philips Van Heusen execs by announcing at his February show that it would be his last. Maer Roshan's new magazine, Radar, is set to launch April 22, and immediately takes a shot at Vanity Fair. [The Word]

Calvin Klein is seeking substance-abuse help after his mid-game courtside discussion with Latrell Sprewell. Kal Ruttenstein, the fashion director of Bloomingdale's, hyperventilates, "Something like this creates a lot of damage for a designer because people don't respect that kind of behavior...I see damage because Calvin opened his first in-store boutique at Bloomingdale's and customers know him from personal appearances. I see damage on all levels, from underwear to ready-to-wear."
Calvin Klein seeking substance-abuse help [NYT]

New York Magazine just turned 35, which means it's roughly five years away from running off with a leggy underage blonde and blaming it on an existential crisis and/or the price of GE when the trading floor last closed. As part of their "celebration," they've put together a list of "100 People Who Changed New York" that includes a few of our contemporary favorites and a few "classics":
· IVAN BOESKY, arrested Reagan-era arbitrageur. Had three phones in his car; still got caught. Quote: "Immoral is probably wrong...I prefer the word unethical." A cautionary tale.
· TINA BROWN, editor. Carp, carpTina's New Yorker doesn t look so bad these days.
· CALVIN KLEIN, designer, Latrell Sprewell interlocutor. Billboard pioneer made you look at the label. From Brooklyn.
· DONALD TRUMP, fortunate son, builder, tabloid headline. Trump this, Trump that. The name itself is onomatopoeia.
· HARVEY WEINSTEIN, neo-maverick film producer. No him, no power omelette at Bubby s
· ANNA WINTOUR, editor, Vogue. Bringing fashionable chill to the masses.
100 people who changed New York [NY Mag]

Calvin Klein spotted post-Knicks game:
...on Monday night. We were at Florent in the Meat Packing District, and at about 9:30 Calvin Klein walks in with a ~25 yo boy-model that he was all over...Calvin was acting like someone who had done enough coke to walk on the court at a Knick's game, but the owner/staff was very accomodating and he seemed to be a regular there. Calvin was really loud and seemed sketchy and apparently just came from the game. [Ed. noteMy comment about Klein being a cokehead may have been unfair, as I can only substantiate that he's only been in rehab for alcohol and prescription drug abuse. I also cannot substantiate *cough cough* any rumors that his "hypothetical" Brazilian rent boy is named "Yan."]

· Kirk Douglas tried to commit suicide after his recent stroke. He put the loaded gun he used in the classic western Gunfight at the OK Corral in his mouth, but hit a bad tooth and the pain made him forget to kill himself. [Page Six]
· Former club king Peter Gatien's daughter Jennifer is starring in the short film, Release Me. [Page Six]
· Rap star Missy Elliot: "I don't eat soap as a meal, but if I'm washing my face I will swallow some. It tastes so good." [Page Six]
· Billy Bob Thornton: "Komodo dragons have this horribly toxic bacteria in their mouths. When they bite you, you go blind. Then they all gather around you and watch you die like they are watching fucking television. They don't eat you right away. They wait til you die. Then they eat you." [Page Six]
· The Hamptons are, like, soooo over. Conscience Point has been shut down; Jet East is having site plan problems, and the Star Room lost most of its parking. [Page Six]
· Conde Nast chief Steve Florio was spotted ribbing the Conde Nast cafeteria staff for featuring France at the dining hall's international table. [Page Six]
· Daniel Day Lewis: "I'm such a pain in the ass, producers think, 'Frig him. We'll get Nicolas Cage." [Cindy Adams]
· Latrell Sprewell on Calvin Klein's attempt to talk to him during Monday's Knicks game: "If Mr. Klein wants to do some business, it can be done. I hope so. Any type of clothing line, I'm definitely open to." [NY Daily News]

A reader sends in background information on Calvin Klein's Joan Rivers outburst after Monday's little incident at the Knicks game:

During Monday night's Knicks game, Calvin Klein apparently walked up to Latrell Sprewell as Sprewell was getting ready to inbound the ball and struck up a conversation with him before being escorted away by security. A number of possible explanations here:
1. Klein has gone completely batshit. (A reader points out that he once called Joan Rivers a "nasty cunt" to her face, but I'm not sure that's indicative of mental instability, as many of us wouldat the very leastbe tempted to do the same thing after a few reasonably strong cocktails.)
2. Klein has decided that being a mere cokehead isn't enough, and added a few hallucinogens to his narcotic repertoire.
3. His Brazilian rent boy dared him to do it. (You know, if he had a Brazilian rent boy. Not that we're suggesting...)
Klein approaches Sprewell during game [AP]

· Stuff Editor Greg Gutfeld arrived at the Phat Farm show on Thursday wearing a bearskin cape complete with head, claws, eyes and teeth. Said Gutfeld, the bear's name was "Skittles . . . and he lived and died for fashion." [Page Six]
· Imitation of Christ reps were spreading rumors that Jeremy Scott's show was cancelled, fearing that it would interfere with their after-party. [Page Six]
· Fox News put an ad in a cable business publication that read "We report. You golf." It featured a figure chipping a golf ball toward a cup with a CNN flag. [NY Daily News]
· The $700 sale price of Calvin Klein to Philips Van Heusen breaks down to $430 million in cash and the rest in PVH stocksignificantly lower than the $1 billion-plus asking range in 2000. Only four designers showed up to Laura Bush's "Red Dress Collection" benefit for heart disease Friday morning. Michael Gross writes, "Zac Posen, at least, had a good excuse," and goes on to explain that Pretty-Boy Prima-Donna Poseur Posen was up late the night before partying at the Four Seasons with assorted models and celebs. [Ed. noteIf getting wasted with the fashionably emaciated the night before is a "good excuse," isn't it fair to say that at least 80% of the designers who didn't show up had a "good excuse"?] [The Word]