40 years ago, Calvin Klein invited the world to indulge in his Obsession, changing the way fashion related to perfume. To celebrate Klein on his 74th birthday, on Nov. 19, here is a nostalgic look back at the 1985 launch of Obsession perfume in pictures from WWD and the Fairchild Archive.

Though Klein had previously launched a woman’s perfume “Calvin by Calvin Klein ” in 1978 and a men’s version in 1981, both lagged as commercial successes due to weak promotions, Klein would reassess the moment, spending an entire year on his next fragrance, “Obsession.” In his first interview with WWD, for its Beauty Inc report, post-launch, he proclaimed the perfume’s name “Obsession” would be “big, like a movie poster for this era.” Klein would not be wrong.

Obsession for women launched in 1985, wit

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