Wikipedia

Donna Karan

Donna Karan(/ˈkærən/KARR-ən;bornDonna Ivy Faske), also known asDK,is an Americanfashion designerand the creator of the Donna Karan New York andDKNYclothing labels.

Donna Karan
Donna Karan (DK) in 2020
Born
Donna Ivy Faske

October 2, 1948(1948-10-02)(age75)
New York City, U.S.
Alma materThe New School
LabelDonna Karan
Spouses
  • Mark Karan
    ​
    ​
    (m.1976;div.1978)​
  • Stephan Weiss
    ​
    ​
    (m.1983; died 2001)​
Children2

Early life

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Donna Ivy Faske was born to mother Helen "Queenie" Faske (née Rabinowitz) and father Gabriel "Gabby" Faske (born Faskowitz[1]) in theForest Hillsneighborhood of the Borough ofQueens,New York City.[citation needed]Her family isJewish.[2][3]Karan's mother had been a model and had also worked in designer Chester Weinberg's showroom. Her father was a tailor andhaberdasherwho died when Donna was three years old.[1]

Karan and her older sister Gail were raised by their mother inWoodmere,in theFive Townsregion ofNassau County, New York.[4][5][6]Donna took pleasure in softball, volleyball, and basketball, cut classes in high school, and passed much of her time in the art department.[7]She graduated fromHewlett High Schoolin 1966,[8]and then went to theParsons School of Design.[9]

Career

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An ensemble Karan designed in 1985-86 in theMetropolitan Museum of ArtexhibitIn America: A Lexicon of Fashion

After leaving college, Karan worked forAnne Klein,[10]eventually becoming head of the Anne Klein design-team, where she remained until 1984, when she launched her Donna Karan label.

Sasha Pivovarovain DKNY by Donna Karan

Karan began her career as an assistant designer with Anne Klein in the late 1960s, where she was promoted to associate designer in 1971. As Klein's assistant, Karan was a participant inThe Battle of Versailles Fashion Showon November 28, 1973. When Klein herself died in 1974, Takihyo Corporation of Japan became the new owner and Karan, together with her former classmate and friend Louis Dell'Olio, 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.[11]

Karan became well known for her 'Essentials' line, initially offering seven easy pieces centered around the bodysuit which could all be mixed and matched, and created a fully integrated wardrobe with her First Collection in 1985. Karan always insisted that she would design only clothes like jersey dresses and opaque Lycra tights that she would wear herself.[11]

In 1988, Karan, nicknamedThe Queen Of Seventh Avenue,[12]extended her women's 'Donna Karan New York' line by creating a less expensive clothing line for younger women, calledDKNY.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.[13]In 1992, Karan also released her "cold shoulder" dress, a jersey long-sleeved dress which featured deep cutouts at the shoulders to reveal the skin beneath.[14]

Karan left herCEOposition in 1997, but continued aschairwomananddesignerfor the Donna Karan line. After 2002, Karan's designer contributions became less and less.[15]In August 2008, Karan relaunched her discontinued fragrance lines from the 1990s.[citation needed]

DKNY Spring 2012

In 2015, Donna Karan announced that she would be stepping down as head of her eponymous company to focus on her lifestyle brand, Urban Zen, established by Karan in 2007.[16][17]

Awards

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Personal life

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In 1976, Donna Faske married Mark Karan, with whom she had a daughter. They divorced in 1978. In 1983, she married artist Stephan Weiss, who would later become co-CEO of the Donna Karan company. They had one son. Stephan Weiss died of lung cancer in 2001.[24]

Citations

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  1. ^abMarzlock, Ron (December 26, 2019)."DKNY founder Donna Karan's life in Kew Gardens".Queens Chronicle.RetrievedApril 23,2021.
  2. ^Johanna Neuman (July–August 2009)."From Ghetto to Glamour, How American Jews Toppled Paris Couture and Redesigned the Fashion Industry".Moment.RetrievedNovember 4,2022– via johannaneuman.com.
  3. ^Hyman & Moore (1997,pp. 26)
  4. ^Hyde, Nina(May 31, 1985)."Fashion".The Washington Post.RetrievedOctober 12,2015.
  5. ^Armstrong, Lisa (March 2, 2013)."Donna Karan's creative flow".Fashion.Daily Telegraph.RetrievedOctober 12,2015.
  6. ^Lada, Diana (March 1, 2009)."Donna Karan".Jewish Women: A Comprehensive Historical Encyclopedia.Jewish Women's Archive.RetrievedOctober 12,2015.
  7. ^"Donna, Karan."Current Biography Yearbook 1990.The H.W. Wilson Company. 1990. p. 352.
  8. ^"1966 Hewlett High School Yearbook".classmates.com.RetrievedJuly 17,2014.
  9. ^"ALUMNI LIST".The New School.RetrievedNovember 18,2014.
  10. ^"Donna Karan Biography".biography.com.A&E Television Networks, LLC.RetrievedNovember 18,2014.
  11. ^abNikas, Joanna (June 4, 2014)."Donna Karan: Milestones".The New York Times.RetrievedOctober 28,2016.
  12. ^"Designing Woman Donna Karan".CBS News.CBS Interactive Inc. May 4, 2010.RetrievedNovember 18,2014.
  13. ^"Donna Karan International Annual Report 2000"(TXT).Sec.gov.RetrievedJuly 17,2015.
  14. ^Tuite, Rebecca(2016)."Defining Designs".National Women's History Museum.
  15. ^"Donna Karan's New Vision".Nymag.com. August 23, 2004.RetrievedJuly 17,2015.
  16. ^Friedman, Vanessa; Bernstein, Jacob (June 30, 2015)."Donna Karan Steps Down, in Major Shift for Fashion".The New York Times.ISSN0362-4331.RetrievedMarch 28,2016.
  17. ^"Donna Karan's Zen Comeback".The Wall Street Journal.November 2, 2016.RetrievedMarch 20,2017.
  18. ^Duka, John (May 27, 1982)."KARAN AND DELL'OLIO VOTED INTO COTY HALL OF FAME".The New York Times.RetrievedNovember 18,2014.
  19. ^abKaran, Donna (October 13, 2015).My Journey.Random House Publishing Group.ISBN978-1-101-88349-5.
  20. ^"MARC JACOB, DONNA KARAN AMONG THOSE HONORED BY FASHION COUNCIL".Greensboro News and Record.November 24, 1992.RetrievedDecember 20,2023.
  21. ^"Golden Plate Awardees of the American Academy of Achievement".American Academy of Achievement.RetrievedJanuary 24,2024.
  22. ^"The CFDA Awards: Designers on Display".Washington Post.ISSN0190-8286.RetrievedDecember 20,2023.
  23. ^"CFDA".cfda.com.RetrievedDecember 20,2023.
  24. ^"Stephen Weiss, husband and business advisor to Donna Karan, loses battle with cancer, aged 62".Vogue.UK. June 11, 2001. Archived fromthe originalon June 11, 2011.RetrievedJuly 17,2015.

General and cited references

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  • Hyman, Paula E.; Moore, Deborah Dash (1997).Jewish Women in America: An Historical Encyclopedia.New York: American Jewish Historical Society.ISBN0-4159-1936-3.
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