Website: www.lloydklein.com

Lloyd Klein was born in Canada in 1967 of French parents. His father was vice-President of an International airline. During his childhood Lloyd lived in 6 countries, primarily France and as a result speaks 5 languages fluently. His college years were spent as a serious student of architecture, with studies in Europe and an internship in the United States. He recognized that fashion was the field he wanted, after attending his first Paris fashion show (of Hubert de Givenchy) when he was 19. This made a deep impression on him.

He has not had any formal fashion school training, but developed a keen interest in the work of Yves St. Laurent, Jacques Fath, Givenchy and American classic Halston. In 1986 he staged his first show in Paris in a hotel ballroom. It was successful enough for him to be encouraged to continue on the fashion path. He could see that his ideas for sophisticated simplicity, fondness for glamour, original thought and dedication to new ideas were the way to go.

In Spring/Summer 1994, Klein presented a collection on the elegant stage of the Opera Comique in Paris. The following season, he stunned the French fashion community by accepting the appointment as head designer for the house of Madame Gres.

He remained there for 5 seasons, but simultaneously continued his own identity as a designer, creating separate seasonal collections which have been shown in London, Milan, as well as Russian and Asian cities.

In 1998, Klein set up his new company headquarters in the United States and in September 1999 presented his Spring/Summer 2000 collection at Bryant Park in New York.

The dress shown here is from his Spring/Summer 2001 collection.

His Fall 2001 collection was inspired by the Marlon Brando movie "Last Tango in Paris". One of the garments was an asymmetrical black leather dress. Actress Maria Schneider, who starred in the film, wore his clothes at the show. Practically everything that Lloyd Klein sent down the catwalk was black.

Klein's Spring 2002 collection was shown in Los Angeles. It was comprised of all white, simple yet sexy silhouettes.

Klein's combination of intricate fabric draping, his signature sleeve cut, strong shoulder construction and choice of fabric are wonderful. He has truly mastered the difficult and precise draping and cutting techniques needed for his elegant garments.

Spring/Summer 2003

Lloyd came back to New York to present his Spring/Summer 2003 collection. He chose as venue, the famous Studio 54 nightclub from the 70's. Using a tailoring technique he calls "coupe franc" (raw cut) he made dark gray jackets bursting with shocking pink frayed edges and navy blue separates marked by blood orange accents to give a bleeding effect.

He attributes this inspiration to the raw, frayed and bloody times of September 11th 2001 terrorist attack.

Fall 2003

Lloyd Klein presented his Fall/Winter 2003 collection during New York Fashion Week in February 2003 and it was his usual success.

His collection was a modern day Romeo and Juliet. He used noble fabrics, flat velours and ancestral embroidery to project the romantic atmosphere. He added devore chiffon, florettes, mink blends and satins de sole. He worked on the colours to refect mood and memory. Lloyd's show was a sexy extravagance mixed with top class tailoring. This is his best collection yet.

Spring/Summer 2004

The Lloyd Klein collection for this season was shown during New York Fashion Week in September 2003. An outfit from the show is shown here on the left.

Lloyd Klein creates garments that have a sense of relevance and practicality and he remains committed to perfection in construction and quality. The balancing act to please the commercial world and creating perfection is a great challenge which he has likened to giving birth every six months when he presents his new collection to the world.

His ateliers are in Paris, his business headquarters in Los Angeles, USA, and his press and sales showrooms are in New York and Beverley Hills.

The media are dubbing Lloyd "the New Klein in Town" after the retirement of Calvin Klein. This is not really fair as he is hardly new. We have been seeing his exquisite clothes for a decade or more. His 2004 collection was inspired by strong and confident elegant women of the 1930's. He used masculine fabrics and turned them into feminine couture. Liquid satins, powdered crepes, crisp cottons, lush organza, bouncy tulle, irridescent silks and chiffons became garments that emphasized relaxed luxury. It was a very beautiful show and it seems that Lloyd is really the only "Klein in Town".

Accident

Everything was all set to show the Fall collection during New York Fashion Week in February 2004. However on the way to the airport in Paris, Lloyd Klein and his staff had a serious car accident, which forced the cancellation of the New York show. Lloyd's mother and his staff were relatively slightly injured, but Lloyd himself was in a coma for several days. He came round and has now recovered completely.

Fall/Winter 2004

Lloyd Klein strode down the runway to wild applause from star-studded celebrities at the opening of Los Angeles fashion week, and finally we got to see his Fall collection. It was well worth waiting for. An outfit from the show is on the right.

His collection took us back to the jungle, with superb animal prints, big cat make-up, gold tribal accessories and splendid amazonian clothes. Apart from a jungle inspiration, he also used metallic gowns, pants and dresses as a second theme. It was a beautiful collection.

Spring/Summer 2005

During New York Fashion Week in September 2004, Lloyd Klein made a triumphant return and presented his Spring collection. One of his elegant dresses from the show is pictured on the left.

A celebrity crowd including Viveca Fox, Ivana Trump, Katie Couric and many more, took their seats as a ballerina surrounded by satin pillows and armchairs pirouetted in the centre.

Lloyd's collection included his usual glamourous red carpet occasion evening wear, using black and white and occasional peach colours. His collection was inspired by legendary French designer Madame Gres, and his goddess gowns reminded us of her pleated masterpieces. New York saw a little of the glorious days of European haute couture. Society ladies of New York will feel good to have Lloyd Klein back.

2004