Donna Karan, 1948

Donna Ivy Faske was born in Queens, NYC, to a family of Jewish descent. When she was three years old, her father died in a car accident, and afterward, her mother remarried, and the family moved to Hewlett, Long Island. She grew up surrounded by fashion, her mother was a model and a showroom sales representative, and her stepfather was a tailor and suit designer. As a teenager, she began working in the industry, selling clothes at a local boutique. Straight after high school, she began studying at Parsons School of Design and worked as an assistant designer at Anne Klein & Company. Within two years, she was promoted to associate designer, and at the age of 26, when Anne Klein died, she became head designer of the house, alongside Louis Dell’Ollio.

In 1985 she launched her label with her second husband. She wanted to design clothes that she would love to wear and “design modern clothes for modern people.” She became recognized for her essentials line – offering seven items that can be mixed and matched. For that, she is credited with initiating the concept of the capsule wardrobe. Three years later, she created DKNY, an affordable fashion line for younger women, and in 1990 she added the DKNY Jeans. In 1992, after seeing the lack of sophisticated clothing for men, she launched DKNY Men. Over time, the Dona Karan brand has grown into a full lifestyle industry, that in addition to apparel, it offered lingerie, handbags, bedding and tableware, fragrances, beauty and cosmetics products, and even home furnishings. Among her regular clients were Barbra Streisand, Richard Gere, Candace Bergen, and Hillary Rodham Clinton.

In 1997, Karan left her CEO position at her company but continued to serve as a designer and chairwoman for the Donna Karan line. In 2001, she sold the company to LVMH and but stayed as a designer. In 2007, she launched the Urban Zen brand, in which she integrates fashion and philanthropy.

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