After Karan’s graduation, she worked for Anna Klein as an assistant designer in late 1960 and went up the career ladder and became the CEO of the company. In 1997, Karan quit as CEO after creating her own line and continued being chairwoman and designer for this line.
She opened her first signature store in London in 1996, and ever since, her clothing and brand was globally known for her simple, sophisticated designs.
Arab News had an exclusive interview with Donna Karan and talked about her new collection where she designed a special line for the Middle Eastern woman.
There was never a particular moment. It was inevitable. I was born into fashion — my father was a custom tailor and my mother was a showroom model. My first fashion show was a high school project. Fashion was what I knew best.
I believe in fate — yes, you have the power to change things to some degree, but so much of it is written. For my entire life, every death has been followed by a birth. Anne Klein’s death was followed by the birth of my daughter Gabby and also the birth of my fashion career.
I have so, so many. Traveling to Versailles with Anne Klein — it was my first trip to Europe! The success of my first solo Anne Klein collection, and years later, opening my own label, which I did with my husband Stephan and our partners from Anne Klein. The launch of Donna Karan New York was such an exciting, creative time for us, and we had no idea it would take off so quickly and so well. Then, there was opening DKNY and watching it grow, ringing in the bell at the New York Stock Exchange when we took the company public……and on and on. There have been so many high points throughout my career.
I’d love to sing like my friend Barbra Streisand and dance like Martha Graham.
The bodysuit was inspired by my love of dance. I saw it as a foundation of dressing from which everything stemmed — the ultimate underpinning. I still wear one everyday, since I practice yoga every morning, and afterward, I just add some layers and go about my day.
I’ll start with the color black. It’s sophisticated, day into evening, city-friendly, goes with everything and doesn’t show dirt. Anything classic and well tailored will not go out of fashion, such as a great jacket, trousers, a trench, a leather bomber or a fabulous cashmere sweater. There are so many pieces that qualify as essentials, so it really depends on the woman. If I had to choose just one, I’d say a sleeveless black jersey dress, as it’s seasonless and can be dressed up and down. You can suit it up with a jacket by day and bare it at night with a wrap.
They make a woman feel good. They give a woman confidence to face her day — knowing she looks great and not having to think about it. Also, our clothes are flexible, going day into night, season into season. Women don’t have time to deal with a lot of clothes. Each piece we design is created to be worn in more than one way, so it’s a great value and investment.
My philosophy is embodied by my Seven Easy Pieces. It’s a modern system of luxe interchangeable pieces that take a woman from day into evening with sophistication and ease. Every timeless piece is designed to accentuate the positive and delete the negative. To me, clothes should enhance your life and be one less thing to think about in the morning.
For me, scents are much like a wardrobe — every scent has a mood and an expression that feels right for a particular woman or emotion. Some scents are more popular than others, but I never consider any one of them “wrong.” One of my all time favorites is Black Cashmere, which is only available in limited distribution.
We’ve had a loyal customer base in the Middle East since 1992. This is a woman who is very cosmopolitan and up to date on the latest fashions. Like all of us, she lives in motion, constantly traveling and is very savvy and international in her approach to style.
Queen Rania. I admire her tremendously as a humanitarian. She’s beautiful inside and out.
I can’t single out any one person. I can say that I was most proud to have President Bill Clinton and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton both wear my clothes when they lived in the White House.
We’ve always catered for the Middle Eastern client, but this is the first time we are advertising it to the public. I believe in international style that works around the world. That said, we’ve always adapted our clothes to the culture and environment, whether it’s offering a modified silhouette, or offering lighter fabrics and colors to accommodate hot climates. But the spirit and design is very much of the Donna Karan Collection we showed on the runway.
