Donna Karan
Encyclopedia
Donna Karan is an American fashion designer and the creator of the Donna Karan New York and DKNY
clothing labels.
, USA. She grew up in Woodmere
, Long Island
, New York, with her stepfather, a tailor
, and her mother, a model. Karan started selling clothing on Cedarhurst, New York
's Central Avenue
at age 14.
She graduated from Hewlett High School
in 1966, and then went to the Parsons School of Design
(later known as Parsons the New School for Design after it became a division of The New School
), for two years. She left to work for Anne Klein
.
design-team, where she remained until 1985, when she launched her eponymous Donna Karan label.
Karan became well-known for her 'Essentials' line, initially offering seven easy pieces which could all be mixed and matched, and created a fully integrated wardrobe. Karan always insisted that she would only design clothes, like jersey dresses and opaque Lycra tights, that she would also wear herself. She was once described in the early 1990s by the New York Times as “[Ed Koch] in a stretchy black dress”.
In 1988, Karan, nicknamed The Queen Of Seventh Avenue by the time, extended her women's 'Donna Karan New York' line by a less expensive one for younger women, called DKNY
. Two years later, she created DKNY Jeans, a denim-inspired collection. DKNY for men was launched in 1992, one year after the 'Signature' line for men had been presented. In its heyday in the 1990s, the Donna Karan portfolio, for men and women, consisted of the top-of-the-line DKNY collection (black label, couture collection, partly hand-made, limited distribution) and its variation, the 'Donna Karan Signature' collection (golden label, designer sportswear, wider distribution), the DKNY lifestyle diffusion line, and the lower-priced DKNY Jeans (and DKNY Active) lines. The portfolio was later complemented by a children's collection, beauty products, accessories and furniture. Sales rose up to $510.1 million in 1995 from $96.6 in 1991. More than half of the sales were attributed to the DKNY lines, couture contributed 15% and about 30% of the sales were generated by men’s clothing, accessories, cosmetics and other products. Almost a third of the sales were made in exports.
in charge of the Donna Karan line. From 2002 on, most of the collection was designed by Peter Speliopoulos
, a former Cerruti
designer, with Karan contributing little subtleties or even entire new creations. The DKNY line is entirely designed by Jane Chung, who has been with Donna Karan since Karan's days with Anne Klein.
In November 2000, the LVMH
(Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton) fashion giant completed the acquisition of both Gabrielle Studio, a company that owned the Donna Karan brand and was named after Karan's daughter, and Donna Karan International Inc. for about $400 million and $240 million, respectively. LVMH subsequently re-arranged the Donna Karan portfolio: 'Donna Karan New York' for men was discontinued, as well as the 'Signature' lines for men and women.
In August 2008, Donna Karan relaunched her discontinued fragrance lines from the 1990s. These include DK Fuel for Men, Signature, Chaos, and Black Cashmere. They are available exclusively in the United States at Saks Fifth Avenue
, Bergdorf Goodman
, Manhattan and at Harrod's, Knightsbridge
, London.
Since 2005, Karan has offered online shopping of its DKNY and associated lines at the label's web site.
The company maintains design studios, showrooms and offices at 550 Seventh Avenue (Manhattan)
(headquarters) and 240 W. 40th St. in New York City.
initiated a campaign against Donna Karan for her use of fur in products and her contracted Fur Farmers' alleged inhumane treatment of the animals.
On May 17, 2008, protesters, who were eventually arrested, crouched in the yoga ‘rabbit pose’ and covered themselves with fake blood while Karan spoke at the Yoga Journal Boston Conference at the Sheraton Boston Hotel. On September 7, 2008, PETA protesters picketed a Boston fashion show by waving signs reading: "Donna: Dump Fur." On December 4, 2008, PETA members wearing Grim Reaper costumes and "bloody" fur coats protested at Karan's boutique in Boston. On December 22, Donna Karan announced that her fall 2009 lines would be fur-free and stated that she had "no plans" to use fur in the future. A personal appeal from Tim Gunn
, the chief creative officer for Liz Claiborne
and announcer in a PETA video, is said to have influenced the decision after PETA's two year campaign against her and Giorgio Armani
.
However, by the Fall of 2010, Karan's fall collection once again included fur items, including jackets and vests. In response to this, PETA held a demonstration on October 19, 2010 near a Democratic fundraiser in Donna Karan’s penthouse. At the event, which was organized by Karan and first lady Michelle Obama
, the PETA protestors held placards that called Karan, "Bunny Butcher." PETA protests against Karan because the fur industry kills 50 million animals, many of which are skinned alive.
On November 29, 2010, 16 different PETA profiles posted a vertical message on Karan's Facebook page that read "DK BUNNY BUTCHER." Each profile picture represented a letter in the message. "Bunny Butcher" is the nickname given to Karan by the organization for using rabbit fur in her collections.
In March, 2011, it was announced to the AFP
that the celebrated Indian yoga master B.K.S. Iyengar
had written to Karan, calling on her on behalf of himself and PETA India to stop using rabbit fur in her clothing lines.
In April, 2011, Karan repeatedly stated on camera that she did not use fur in any of her fashion line. Karan's Fall 2011 "Pearls of Wisdom" collection, released in February, 2011, contained numerous outfits with fur.
. The grant will be used for testing whether yoga, meditation and aromatherapy can enhance the traditional cancer treatments of chemotherapy and radiation.
DKNY
DKNY is a label of fashion designer Donna Karan. It is also the name of a clothing store in New York City featuring Donna Karan's associated line.-History:...
clothing labels.
Early life
Karan was born Donna Ivy Faske in Forest Hills, QueensForest Hills, Queens
Forest Hills is a neighborhood in the borough of Queens in New York City, New York, United States.-Neighborhood:The neighborhood is home to upper-middle class residents, of whom the wealthier residents often live in the neighborhood's Forest Hills Gardens area...
, USA. She grew up in Woodmere
Woodmere, New York
Woodmere is a hamlet in Nassau County, New York, United States. The population was 17,121 at the 2010 census.Woodmere is one of the Long Island communities known as the Five Towns, which is usually said to comprise the villages of Lawrence and Cedarhurst, the hamlets of Woodmere and Inwood, and...
, Long Island
Long Island
Long Island is an island located in the southeast part of the U.S. state of New York, just east of Manhattan. Stretching northeast into the Atlantic Ocean, Long Island contains four counties, two of which are boroughs of New York City , and two of which are mainly suburban...
, New York, with her stepfather, a tailor
Tailor
A tailor is a person who makes, repairs, or alters clothing professionally, especially suits and men's clothing.Although the term dates to the thirteenth century, tailor took on its modern sense in the late eighteenth century, and now refers to makers of men's and women's suits, coats, trousers,...
, and her mother, a model. Karan started selling clothing on Cedarhurst, New York
Cedarhurst, New York
Cedarhurst is a village in Nassau County, on the South Shore of Long Island, New York, in the USA. The population was 6,592 at the 2010 United States Census. The village is named after a grove of trees that once stood at the post office....
's Central Avenue
Central Avenue (Five Towns)
Central Avenue is a road mainly in Nassau County on Long Island, New York, that spans four of the Five Towns along the Far Rockaway Branch of the Long Island Rail Road, to which it runs parallel. About a third of it is a popular business district that plays a central role in the social life of the...
at age 14.
She graduated from Hewlett High School
George W. Hewlett High School
George W. Hewlett High School is a four-year public high school in Hewlett, New York, which is a part of the Five Towns area of the South Shore of Long Island. The school is the only high school in the Hewlett-Woodmere School District . On March 13, 2008, Asst. Principal Thomas Russo was named...
in 1966, and then went to the Parsons School of Design
Parsons The New School for Design
Parsons The New School For Design, known colloquially as Parsons, is the art and design college of The New School university. It is located in New York City's Greenwich Village, and has produced artists and designers such as Marc Jacobs, Dean and Dan Caten, Norman Rockwell, Donna Karan, Jane...
(later known as Parsons the New School for Design after it became a division of The New School
The New School
The New School is a university in New York City, located mostly in Greenwich Village. From its founding in 1919 by progressive New York academics, and for most of its history, the university was known as the New School for Social Research. Between 1997 and 2005 it was known as New School University...
), for two years. She left to work for Anne Klein
Anne Klein
Anne Klein was an American fashion designer who founded her own women's sportswear and apparel label.-Biography:Anne Klein was born as Hannah Golofski in a Jewish family in Brooklyn, New York on August 3, 1923...
.
Career
After leaving college, Karan worked for Anne Klein, eventually becoming head of the Anne KleinAnne Klein
Anne Klein was an American fashion designer who founded her own women's sportswear and apparel label.-Biography:Anne Klein was born as Hannah Golofski in a Jewish family in Brooklyn, New York on August 3, 1923...
design-team, where she remained until 1985, when she launched her eponymous Donna Karan label.
Donna Karan International
Karan began her career as an assistant designer with Anne Klein in the late 1960s, where she was eventually promoted to associate designer in 1971. When Anne Klein herself died in 1974, Takihyo Corporation of Japan became the new owner and Karan, together with her former classmate and friend Louis Dell'Ollio, became head designer of the house. In 1984, Karan left Anne Klein and, together with her then husband Stephan Weiss and Takihyo Corporation, started her own business "to design modern clothes for modern people". She showed her first women's clothing collection in 1985.Karan became well-known for her 'Essentials' line, initially offering seven easy pieces which could all be mixed and matched, and created a fully integrated wardrobe. Karan always insisted that she would only design clothes, like jersey dresses and opaque Lycra tights, that she would also wear herself. She was once described in the early 1990s by the New York Times as “[Ed Koch] in a stretchy black dress”.
In 1988, Karan, nicknamed The Queen Of Seventh Avenue by the time, extended her women's 'Donna Karan New York' line by a less expensive one for younger women, called DKNY
DKNY
DKNY is a label of fashion designer Donna Karan. It is also the name of a clothing store in New York City featuring Donna Karan's associated line.-History:...
. Two years later, she created DKNY Jeans, a denim-inspired collection. DKNY for men was launched in 1992, one year after the 'Signature' line for men had been presented. In its heyday in the 1990s, the Donna Karan portfolio, for men and women, consisted of the top-of-the-line DKNY collection (black label, couture collection, partly hand-made, limited distribution) and its variation, the 'Donna Karan Signature' collection (golden label, designer sportswear, wider distribution), the DKNY lifestyle diffusion line, and the lower-priced DKNY Jeans (and DKNY Active) lines. The portfolio was later complemented by a children's collection, beauty products, accessories and furniture. Sales rose up to $510.1 million in 1995 from $96.6 in 1991. More than half of the sales were attributed to the DKNY lines, couture contributed 15% and about 30% of the sales were generated by men’s clothing, accessories, cosmetics and other products. Almost a third of the sales were made in exports.
Donna Karan, Inc. and LVMH
In 1997, Donna Karan quit as CEO of the company, but continues to act as chairwoman and designerDesigner
A designer is a person who designs. More formally, a designer is an agent that "specifies the structural properties of a design object". In practice, anyone who creates tangible or intangible objects, such as consumer products, processes, laws, games and graphics, is referred to as a...
in charge of the Donna Karan line. From 2002 on, most of the collection was designed by Peter Speliopoulos
Peter Speliopoulos
Peter Speliopoulos, born in 1961 in Springfield, Massachusetts, is a Greek American fashion designer.-Life as a designer:Speliopoulos studied fashion at Parsons School of Design in New York and graduated with a BFA in 1981. Speliopoulos is best friends with fashion designer Isaac Mizrahi who also...
, a former Cerruti
Nino Cerruti
Nino Cerruti is an Italian businessman and stylist, among the most famous in the world.He founded his own haute couture house Cerruti in 1967 in Paris...
designer, with Karan contributing little subtleties or even entire new creations. The DKNY line is entirely designed by Jane Chung, who has been with Donna Karan since Karan's days with Anne Klein.
In November 2000, the LVMH
LVMH
LVMH Moët Hennessy • Louis Vuitton S.A., better known as LVMH, is a French multinational luxury goods conglomerate headquartered in Paris, Île-de-France, France. The company was formed after the 1987 merger of fashion house Louis Vuitton with Moët Hennessy, a company formed after the 1971 merger...
(Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton) fashion giant completed the acquisition of both Gabrielle Studio, a company that owned the Donna Karan brand and was named after Karan's daughter, and Donna Karan International Inc. for about $400 million and $240 million, respectively. LVMH subsequently re-arranged the Donna Karan portfolio: 'Donna Karan New York' for men was discontinued, as well as the 'Signature' lines for men and women.
In August 2008, Donna Karan relaunched her discontinued fragrance lines from the 1990s. These include DK Fuel for Men, Signature, Chaos, and Black Cashmere. They are available exclusively in the United States at Saks Fifth Avenue
Saks Fifth Avenue
Saks Fifth Avenue is a luxury American specialty store owned and operated by Saks Fifth Avenue Enterprises , a subsidiary of Saks Incorporated. It competes in the high-end specialty store market in the Upper East Side of Manhattan, i.e. 'the 3 B's' Bergdorf, Barneys, Bloomingdale's and Lord & Taylor...
, Bergdorf Goodman
Bergdorf Goodman
Bergdorf Goodman is a luxury goods department store based on Fifth Avenue in Midtown Manhattan in New York City. The company was founded in 1899 by Herman Bergdorf and was later owned and managed by Edwin Goodman, and later his son Andrew Goodman....
, Manhattan and at Harrod's, Knightsbridge
Knightsbridge
Knightsbridge is a road which gives its name to an exclusive district lying to the west of central London. The road runs along the south side of Hyde Park, west from Hyde Park Corner, spanning the City of Westminster and the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea...
, London.
Donna Karan stores
The first Donna Karan Signature store was opened in London in 1996 at 27 New Bond Street The first DKNY flagship store opened in 1999 at Madison Avenue and 60th in New York. The Donna Karan store in Berlin was closed in December 2001. The DKNY label has its own stores, located predominantly in retail shopping malls. Since October 2006, Mark Weber is CEO of Donna Karan International.Since 2005, Karan has offered online shopping of its DKNY and associated lines at the label's web site.
The company maintains design studios, showrooms and offices at 550 Seventh Avenue (Manhattan)
Seventh Avenue (Manhattan)
Seventh Avenue, known as Adam Clayton Powell Jr. Boulevard north of Central Park, is a thoroughfare on the West Side of the borough of Manhattan in New York City. It is southbound below Central Park and a two-way street north of the park....
(headquarters) and 240 W. 40th St. in New York City.
PETA protests
In 2008, the animal rights group PETAPeta
Peta can refer to:* peta-, an SI prefix denoting a factor of 1015* Peta, Greece, a town in Greece* Peta, the Pāli word for a Preta, or hungry ghost in Buddhism* Peta Wilson, an Australian actress and model* Peta Todd, English glamour model...
initiated a campaign against Donna Karan for her use of fur in products and her contracted Fur Farmers' alleged inhumane treatment of the animals.
On May 17, 2008, protesters, who were eventually arrested, crouched in the yoga ‘rabbit pose’ and covered themselves with fake blood while Karan spoke at the Yoga Journal Boston Conference at the Sheraton Boston Hotel. On September 7, 2008, PETA protesters picketed a Boston fashion show by waving signs reading: "Donna: Dump Fur." On December 4, 2008, PETA members wearing Grim Reaper costumes and "bloody" fur coats protested at Karan's boutique in Boston. On December 22, Donna Karan announced that her fall 2009 lines would be fur-free and stated that she had "no plans" to use fur in the future. A personal appeal from Tim Gunn
Tim Gunn
Timothy M. "Tim" Gunn is an American fashion consultant and television personality. He was on the faculty of Parsons The New School for Design from 1982 to 2007 and was chair of fashion design at the school from August 2000 to March 2007, after which he joined Liz Claiborne as its chief creative...
, the chief creative officer for Liz Claiborne
Liz Claiborne
Anne Elisabeth Jane "Liz" Claiborne was a Belgian-born American fashion designer and entrepreneur. Claiborne is best known for founding Liz Claiborne Inc. which in 1986 became the first company founded by a woman to make the Fortune 500...
and announcer in a PETA video, is said to have influenced the decision after PETA's two year campaign against her and Giorgio Armani
Giorgio Armani
Giorgio Armani is an Italian fashion designer, particularly noted for his menswear. He is known today for his clean, tailored lines. He formed his company, Armani, in 1975, and by 2001 was acclaimed as the most successful designer to come out of Italy, with an annual turnover of $1.6 billion and a...
.
However, by the Fall of 2010, Karan's fall collection once again included fur items, including jackets and vests. In response to this, PETA held a demonstration on October 19, 2010 near a Democratic fundraiser in Donna Karan’s penthouse. At the event, which was organized by Karan and first lady Michelle Obama
Michelle Obama
Michelle LaVaughn Robinson Obama is the wife of the 44th and incumbent President of the United States, Barack Obama, and is the first African-American First Lady of the United States...
, the PETA protestors held placards that called Karan, "Bunny Butcher." PETA protests against Karan because the fur industry kills 50 million animals, many of which are skinned alive.
On November 29, 2010, 16 different PETA profiles posted a vertical message on Karan's Facebook page that read "DK BUNNY BUTCHER." Each profile picture represented a letter in the message. "Bunny Butcher" is the nickname given to Karan by the organization for using rabbit fur in her collections.
In March, 2011, it was announced to the AFP
Agence France-Presse
Agence France-Presse is a French news agency, the oldest one in the world, and one of the three largest with Associated Press and Reuters. It is also the largest French news agency. Currently, its CEO is Emmanuel Hoog and its news director Philippe Massonnet...
that the celebrated Indian yoga master B.K.S. Iyengar
B.K.S. Iyengar
Bellur Krishnamachar Sundararaja Iyengar , is the founder of Iyengar Yoga, although he himself would not call it Iyengar Yoga. He is considered one of the foremost yoga teachers in the world and has been practising and teaching yoga for more than 75 years...
had written to Karan, calling on her on behalf of himself and PETA India to stop using rabbit fur in her clothing lines.
In April, 2011, Karan repeatedly stated on camera that she did not use fur in any of her fashion line. Karan's Fall 2011 "Pearls of Wisdom" collection, released in February, 2011, contained numerous outfits with fur.
Awards
- Karan won the Coty American Fashion Critics’ Award in 1977 and once again in 1982 (together with Louis Dell’Ollio for Anne KleinAnne KleinAnne Klein was an American fashion designer who founded her own women's sportswear and apparel label.-Biography:Anne Klein was born as Hannah Golofski in a Jewish family in Brooklyn, New York on August 3, 1923...
). - She was inducted into the Coty Hall Of Fame in 1984.
- The Council of Fashion Designers of AmericaCouncil of Fashion Designers of AmericaThe Council of Fashion Designers of America, Inc. is a not-for-profit trade association of over 350 of America’s foremost fashion and accessory designers. As of 2009, Diane von Fürstenberg is the group's President and Steven Kolb is the Executive Director...
(CFDA) named her Menswear Designer of the Year 1992 and Womenswear Designer of the Year 1990 and 1996. She was a nominee for the latter again in 2003 and was presented with the Lifetime Achievement Award by the CFDA in 2004. She won special CFDA awards in 1985, 1986 and 1987.
Personal life
She married Mark Karan in the early 1970s, had a daughter, Gabrielle, and divorced in 1978. In 1983, she married artist Stephen Weiss, who would later become co-CEO of the Donna Karan company. Weiss died of lung cancer in 2001.Charity work
Karan is the founder of many charities including, the Urban Zen initiative, which she founded with designer Sonja Nuttall.. On March 14 and 15 2008, Karan organized a large sale of her personal belongings and vintage company samples at her late husband's studio to benefit the cause. In October 2008, a foundation run by Karan donated $850,000 to New York's Beth Israel Medical CenterBeth Israel Medical Center
Beth Israel Medical Center is a 1,368-bed, full-service tertiary teaching hospital in New York City. Originally dedicated to serving immigrant Jews living in the tenement slums of the Lower East Side, it was founded at the turn of the 20th century. The main hospital location is the Petrie...
. The grant will be used for testing whether yoga, meditation and aromatherapy can enhance the traditional cancer treatments of chemotherapy and radiation.