Ask someone, anywhere in the world, to name a designer, a woman, who is alive, and I bet on everyone’s lips the answer will be Donna Karan. Donna is us. Donna is every woman, and that is the key to her success. She designs for herself... and for us. She feels for us, she cares for us, she gains weight like us, and she loses it. She is devoted to her family. She is a mother, a mother-in-law, and a grandmother. She has loved and lost and had her share of tragedies that have impacted her life and influenced her career. She is insecure like most of us. She is curious. She’s a leader and an organizer, a businesswoman, a philanthropist, an artist, a mentor, and I’m proud to say, a friend. And you have no idea how close we came to doing this entire interview on Skype from Haiti. So let’s meet this extraordinary woman who really did fly back from Haiti to be with us. Skype Haiti.
DONNA KARAN FERN MALLIS: So, Donna’s not taking calls from her bag. This is all part of things that she’s going to talk about and she’s going to share with us. Normally, you don’t expect people walking out with their bags and purses here, but this is all part of Donna’s stuff. DONNA KARAN: Can I look for my daughter? Where is she? Gabby? FERN MALLIS: Gabby, where are you? DONNA KARAN: You did show up. Okay, now I know where she is. Because if I don’t feel my daughter I get very nervous. Sorry, hi. FERN MALLIS: Okay, Donna, focus. DONNA KARAN: Hi. [LAUGHING] That’s very funny, Fern. FERN MALLIS: Donna, we do these interviews and I start from the beginning, which I know is important to you. There’s a beginning, a middle, the past, the present, and the future. DONNA KARAN: [INAUDIBLE] FERN MALLIS: So we’re going to try and cover a lot, because you had an amazing life and career. You were born in Forest Hills, Queens on October 2, 1948. I’ll do the math, sixty-three years old. DONNA KARAN: You don’t have to-10
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Ask someone, anywhere in the world, to name a designer, a woman, who is alive, and I bet on everyone’s lips the answer will be Donna Karan. Donna is us. Donna is every woman, and that is the key to her success. She designs for herself... and for us. She feels for us, she cares for us, she gains weight like us, and she loses it. She is devoted to her family. She is a mother, a mother-in-law, and a grandmother. She has loved and lost and had her share of tragedies that have impacted her life and influenced her career. She is insecure like most of us. She is curious. She’s a leader and an organizer, a businesswoman, a philanthropist, an artist, a mentor, and I’m proud to say, a friend. And you have no idea how close we came to doing this entire interview on Skype from Haiti. So let’s meet this extraordinary woman who really did fly back from Haiti to be with us. Skype Haiti.
DONNA KARAN FERN MALLIS: So, Donna’s not taking calls from her bag. This is all part of things that she’s going to talk about and she’s going to share with us. Normally, you don’t expect people walking out with their bags and purses here, but this is all part of Donna’s stuff. DONNA KARAN: Can I look for my daughter? Where is she? Gabby? FERN MALLIS: Gabby, where are you? DONNA KARAN: You did show up. Okay, now I know where she is. Because if I don’t feel my daughter I get very nervous. Sorry, hi. FERN MALLIS: Okay, Donna, focus. DONNA KARAN: Hi. [LAUGHING] That’s very funny, Fern. FERN MALLIS: Donna, we do these interviews and I start from the beginning, which I know is important to you. There’s a beginning, a middle, the past, the present, and the future. DONNA KARAN: [INAUDIBLE] FERN MALLIS: So we’re going to try and cover a lot, because you had an amazing life and career. You were born in Forest Hills, Queens on October 2, 1948. I’ll do the math, sixty-three years old. DONNA KARAN: You don’t have to-10
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FERN MALLIS: How old do you feel?
DONNA KARAN: I lived on the other side of the tracks of the Five Towns. I just want people to
DONNA KARAN: Did you ask Calvin how old he was, too?
know that.
FERN MALLIS: Yes, everybody knew Calvin’s age.
FERN MALLIS: Other side of the tracks? So you weren’t quite a clothes horse or considered a
DONNA KARAN: There’s a cute guy out there. How’s that going to work for me? Just kidding.
JAP (Jewish American Princess)?
FERN MALLIS: How old do you feel, though?
DONNA KARAN: I worked in a clothing store.
DONNA KARAN: What?
FERN MALLIS: Doing what?
FERN MALLIS: How old do you feel?
DONNA KARAN: Sherry’s, as a salesgirl. and I drew an amazing sketch in the dressing room,
DONNA KARAN: Twelve, thirteen, fourteen. In my twenties, thirties. My daughter’s older than I am.
and all the mothers loved me to dress their kids. I was about thirteen, fourteen, I lied about my
FERN MALLIS: I think that’s true.
age. And I was a really good salesgirl. And I told anybody in the fashion industry--— I wanted to
DONNA KARAN: I have more energy.
be an illustrator, not a designer.
FERN MALLIS: This is true. Donna, you’re a Libra. Does that mean anything to you?
FERN MALLIS: You still are the best salesgirl.
DONNA KARAN: Completely imbalanced. No, really, as a Libra, I try to find the balance in
DONNA KARAN: Pretty good. - if you want to be a designer, you have to, you must, work in
everything. It’s neither one or the other, but a very balanced sign. But I have a lot of Virgo in me.
retail. There’s not even a discussion about it.
FERN MALLIS: Well, the other characteristic of a Libra is waiting until the last minute to decide
FERN MALLIS: That’s very good advice. When did you go to Parsons?
things. Is that true?
DONNA KARAN: Well, I didn’t actually want to go to Parsons, I don’t think. I went to Women’s
DONNA KARAN: Me? Never. If you asked me what the collection looks like before it goes out
Wear Daily for an interview. I wanted to work at Women’s Wear Daily. I wanted to be an
on the runway, I couldn’t tell you. I never know, there might be a dress that shows up.
illustrator-- and John Fairchild told me that I better take up design because I wasn’t a good
FERN MALLIS: This is true, it changes as it’s--
enough illustrator.
DONNA KARAN: I mean they come in like, you have no idea.
FERN MALLIS: So do we have Women’s Wear Daily to thank for you becoming a designer?
FERN MALLIS: Donna was just asked backstage about her collection, and she said, I don’t
DONNA KARAN: Probably, because I figured I’d go to FIT for
know, I haven’t done it yet. So, let’s keep moving along.
illustration and Parsons for design, so I wasn’t sure who
FERN MALLIS: You grew up in Woodmere, Long Island. And you went to Hewlett High School,
would take me, and I know Calvin went to FIT and I went to
where the girls wore Pappagallos.
Parsons. But I didn’t graduate, you know that
DONNA KARAN: They all wore Pappagallos, but I couldn’t afford them. I only had a pair of
FERN MALLIS: I know that. So, how many years did you go
roman sandals that laced up my legs.
to Parsons?
FERN MALLIS: If you could afford them, would you have wanted to have Pappagallos?
DONNA KARAN: To Parsons? Two. I had to go to summer
DONNA KARAN: Probably not, no. I was a hippie. Still am.
school because I failed draping.
FERN MALLIS: Why did your family move from Queens to Long Island?
FERN MALLIS: Failed draping.
DONNA KARAN: That’s a good question. They never told me. I don’t know. We moved when I
DONNA KARAN: I showed them.
was three years old. If my sister’s in the audience, she’d tell me. I don’t remember that. That’s
FERN MALLIS: So that means there’s hope for some people
the only thing that shows my age sometimes, is my memory. Us girls [understand that].
out there, right?
FERN MALLIS: I know, that happens. What did your parents do?
DONNA KARAN: I tell kids, yeah. I failed draping. I failed typing
DONNA KARAN: My mother was in fashion, my father was in fashion. And my mother was a
in high school. That’s why I’m not very good on a computer.
model, a showroom model and--
FERN MALLIS: When you were going to Parsons were you
DONNA KARAN: My father made custom-made suits for gangsters, and he worked right by
commuting from Long Island?
Macy’s. He unfortunately passed away when I was three years old. But I remember watching the
DONNA KARAN: Yup. Long Island Rail Road, back and forth,
Thanksgiving Day Parade from there
back and forth.
FERN MALLIS: Best seats.
FERN MALLIS: So why didn’t you finish your degree?
DONNA KARAN: It was the most important moment of my life at three years old, I watched the
DONNA KARAN: Anne Klein hired me for a summer job. And
Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade and then I got scared by the Indians. and I went under the table.
she said, why would you want to go back to school?
FERN MALLIS: So was that one of the best memories you have of your father?
FERN MALLIS: But was she recruiting at the school and you met her? How did you connect
DONNA KARAN: Probably the only one.
with her?
FERN MALLIS: You grew up in the Five Towns, so your family, as you say, was in the fashion business. Were you a clotheshorse? 12
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetuer adipiscing elit. Aenean commodo ligula eget dolor. Aenean massa. Cum sociis natoque penatibus et magnis dis parturient montes, nascetur ridiculus mus. Donec quam felis,
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FERN MALLIS: How old do you feel?
DONNA KARAN: I lived on the other side of the tracks of the Five Towns. I just want people to
DONNA KARAN: Did you ask Calvin how old he was, too?
know that.
FERN MALLIS: Yes, everybody knew Calvin’s age.
FERN MALLIS: Other side of the tracks? So you weren’t quite a clothes horse or considered a
DONNA KARAN: There’s a cute guy out there. How’s that going to work for me? Just kidding.
JAP (Jewish American Princess)?
FERN MALLIS: How old do you feel, though?
DONNA KARAN: I worked in a clothing store.
DONNA KARAN: What?
FERN MALLIS: Doing what?
FERN MALLIS: How old do you feel?
DONNA KARAN: Sherry’s, as a salesgirl. and I drew an amazing sketch in the dressing room,
DONNA KARAN: Twelve, thirteen, fourteen. In my twenties, thirties. My daughter’s older than I am.
and all the mothers loved me to dress their kids. I was about thirteen, fourteen, I lied about my
FERN MALLIS: I think that’s true.
age. And I was a really good salesgirl. And I told anybody in the fashion industry--— I wanted to
DONNA KARAN: I have more energy.
be an illustrator, not a designer.
FERN MALLIS: This is true. Donna, you’re a Libra. Does that mean anything to you?
FERN MALLIS: You still are the best salesgirl.
DONNA KARAN: Completely imbalanced. No, really, as a Libra, I try to find the balance in
DONNA KARAN: Pretty good. - if you want to be a designer, you have to, you must, work in
everything. It’s neither one or the other, but a very balanced sign. But I have a lot of Virgo in me.
retail. There’s not even a discussion about it.
FERN MALLIS: Well, the other characteristic of a Libra is waiting until the last minute to decide
FERN MALLIS: That’s very good advice. When did you go to Parsons?
things. Is that true?
DONNA KARAN: Well, I didn’t actually want to go to Parsons, I don’t think. I went to Women’s
DONNA KARAN: Me? Never. If you asked me what the collection looks like before it goes out
Wear Daily for an interview. I wanted to work at Women’s Wear Daily. I wanted to be an
on the runway, I couldn’t tell you. I never know, there might be a dress that shows up.
illustrator-- and John Fairchild told me that I better take up design because I wasn’t a good
FERN MALLIS: This is true, it changes as it’s--
enough illustrator.
DONNA KARAN: I mean they come in like, you have no idea.
FERN MALLIS: So do we have Women’s Wear Daily to thank for you becoming a designer?
FERN MALLIS: Donna was just asked backstage about her collection, and she said, I don’t
DONNA KARAN: Probably, because I figured I’d go to FIT for
know, I haven’t done it yet. So, let’s keep moving along.
illustration and Parsons for design, so I wasn’t sure who
FERN MALLIS: You grew up in Woodmere, Long Island. And you went to Hewlett High School,
would take me, and I know Calvin went to FIT and I went to
where the girls wore Pappagallos.
Parsons. But I didn’t graduate, you know that
DONNA KARAN: They all wore Pappagallos, but I couldn’t afford them. I only had a pair of
FERN MALLIS: I know that. So, how many years did you go
roman sandals that laced up my legs.
to Parsons?
FERN MALLIS: If you could afford them, would you have wanted to have Pappagallos?
DONNA KARAN: To Parsons? Two. I had to go to summer
DONNA KARAN: Probably not, no. I was a hippie. Still am.
school because I failed draping.
FERN MALLIS: Why did your family move from Queens to Long Island?
FERN MALLIS: Failed draping.
DONNA KARAN: That’s a good question. They never told me. I don’t know. We moved when I
DONNA KARAN: I showed them.
was three years old. If my sister’s in the audience, she’d tell me. I don’t remember that. That’s
FERN MALLIS: So that means there’s hope for some people
the only thing that shows my age sometimes, is my memory. Us girls [understand that].
out there, right?
FERN MALLIS: I know, that happens. What did your parents do?
DONNA KARAN: I tell kids, yeah. I failed draping. I failed typing
DONNA KARAN: My mother was in fashion, my father was in fashion. And my mother was a
in high school. That’s why I’m not very good on a computer.
model, a showroom model and--
FERN MALLIS: When you were going to Parsons were you
DONNA KARAN: My father made custom-made suits for gangsters, and he worked right by
commuting from Long Island?
Macy’s. He unfortunately passed away when I was three years old. But I remember watching the
DONNA KARAN: Yup. Long Island Rail Road, back and forth,
Thanksgiving Day Parade from there
back and forth.
FERN MALLIS: Best seats.
FERN MALLIS: So why didn’t you finish your degree?
DONNA KARAN: It was the most important moment of my life at three years old, I watched the
DONNA KARAN: Anne Klein hired me for a summer job. And
Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade and then I got scared by the Indians. and I went under the table.
she said, why would you want to go back to school?
FERN MALLIS: So was that one of the best memories you have of your father?
FERN MALLIS: But was she recruiting at the school and you met her? How did you connect
DONNA KARAN: Probably the only one.
with her?
FERN MALLIS: You grew up in the Five Towns, so your family, as you say, was in the fashion business. Were you a clotheshorse? 12
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my daughter. So finally Louis came about two collections later. And we teamed up to do Anne Klein. FERN MALLIS: How many years did you and Louis work together? DONNA KARAN: About nine years. And then I started Anne Klein II. FERN MALLIS. Did you ever miss the collaboration of working that close with a designer like Louis and you, who were really a team at that time? DONNA KARAN: To me, I only work with teams. I mean, it’s never ever about me. It’s always about the we. I mean it’s, my people, If anybody thinks I do everything, I fit everything. That I’ll tell you. I’m a little bit obsessed about the fit and the body. FERN MALLIS: What was the impetus in ’83 for starting Anne Klein II? DONNA KARAN: I really realized that there was-- Now you have to understand, it was forty-nine dollars or something like that with collection. You’ve got to put this all into perspective. I think that was the wholesale price, $49.95. So that would’ve been, what? Ninety dollars or something like that. So I said I needed a pair of jeans, and I needed my T-shirts, my sweats, and all of my casual clothes that I wasn’t doing at Anne Klein. And that started Anne Klein II. And so of course with all of my sweats and everything else I was doing, and I had the gray sweatshirt. I was doing blazers sweats, and I needed my casual clothes. And at Anne Klein, I found that my resort collection and my summer collection were the collections that I loved. They were less expensive. And then there was the fashion collection. So it was a doorway to something between collection and Anne Klein II. FERN MALLIS: Well, Anne Klein II was essentially one of the first bridge collections-DONNA KARAN: DKNY. FERN MALLIS: --in the industry, you started an entire classification on 7th avenue of people creating bridge collections after Anne Klein II. DONNA KARAN: Right. FERN MALLIS: So that was in 1983, which was also another important year for you because that was the year you did marry Stephan Weiss, who you had met seventeen years earlier. DONNA KARAN: I can’t wait to get that so you can keep me on track. Can I have that for my biography? FERN MALLIS: I’ll give this to you after. DONNA KARAN: I have no idea, where’d you get this all? I’m very impressed. FERN MALLIS: So where did you reconnect with Stephan then, after all that time, and you got married seventeen years later? DONNA KARAN: I had met him in a major snowstorm, and ten years later there was a major snowstorm in New York City. Everything was paralyzed. And I said to his brother—I was on the Long Island Rail Road at the time—how’s Stephan? Have you seen him? Have him give me a call. And that was it. Stephan called me that day, and that was the end of that. FERN MALLIS: It was the beginning of that, not the end of that. DONNA KARAN: We don’t have to go into details, do we? FERN MALLIS: So he was an artist at that time. He was doing sculptures? DONNA KARAN: He was a sculptor. He was an artist. He lived in the back of God only knows where. He was an amazing guy. He had two children. And he had his studio, living space, on 2nd Avenue. And he did Plexiglas, and he did theater sets for the Broadway shows. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetuer adipiscing elit. Aenean commodo ligula eget dolor. Aenean massa. Cum sociis natoque penatibus et magnis dis parturient montes, nascetur ridiculus mus. Donec quam felis,
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my daughter. So finally Louis came about two collections later. And we teamed up to do Anne Klein. FERN MALLIS: How many years did you and Louis work together? DONNA KARAN: About nine years. And then I started Anne Klein II. FERN MALLIS. Did you ever miss the collaboration of working that close with a designer like Louis and you, who were really a team at that time? DONNA KARAN: To me, I only work with teams. I mean, it’s never ever about me. It’s always about the we. I mean it’s, my people, If anybody thinks I do everything, I fit everything. That I’ll tell you. I’m a little bit obsessed about the fit and the body. FERN MALLIS: What was the impetus in ’83 for starting Anne Klein II? DONNA KARAN: I really realized that there was-- Now you have to understand, it was forty-nine dollars or something like that with collection. You’ve got to put this all into perspective. I think that was the wholesale price, $49.95. So that would’ve been, what? Ninety dollars or something like that. So I said I needed a pair of jeans, and I needed my T-shirts, my sweats, and all of my casual clothes that I wasn’t doing at Anne Klein. And that started Anne Klein II. And so of course with all of my sweats and everything else I was doing, and I had the gray sweatshirt. I was doing blazers sweats, and I needed my casual clothes. And at Anne Klein, I found that my resort collection and my summer collection were the collections that I loved. They were less expensive. And then there was the fashion collection. So it was a doorway to something between collection and Anne Klein II. FERN MALLIS: Well, Anne Klein II was essentially one of the first bridge collections-DONNA KARAN: DKNY. FERN MALLIS: --in the industry, you started an entire classification on 7th avenue of people creating bridge collections after Anne Klein II. DONNA KARAN: Right. FERN MALLIS: So that was in 1983, which was also another important year for you because that was the year you did marry Stephan Weiss, who you had met seventeen years earlier. DONNA KARAN: I can’t wait to get that so you can keep me on track. Can I have that for my biography? FERN MALLIS: I’ll give this to you after. DONNA KARAN: I have no idea, where’d you get this all? I’m very impressed. FERN MALLIS: So where did you reconnect with Stephan then, after all that time, and you got married seventeen years later? DONNA KARAN: I had met him in a major snowstorm, and ten years later there was a major snowstorm in New York City. Everything was paralyzed. And I said to his brother—I was on the Long Island Rail Road at the time—how’s Stephan? Have you seen him? Have him give me a call. And that was it. Stephan called me that day, and that was the end of that. FERN MALLIS: It was the beginning of that, not the end of that. DONNA KARAN: We don’t have to go into details, do we? FERN MALLIS: So he was an artist at that time. He was doing sculptures? DONNA KARAN: He was a sculptor. He was an artist. He lived in the back of God only knows where. He was an amazing guy. He had two children. And he had his studio, living space, on 2nd Avenue. And he did Plexiglas, and he did theater sets for the Broadway shows. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetuer adipiscing elit. Aenean commodo ligula eget dolor. Aenean massa. Cum sociis natoque penatibus et magnis dis parturient montes, nascetur ridiculus mus. Donec quam felis,
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FERN MALLIS: Okay. And a year after that, Tomio and Frank Mori, who ran Anne Klein, basically
design room, I had nothing. I mean it was really kind of funny.
fired you so that they could start another company. Want to tell us what that was like?
FERN MALLIS: And then when that business started--is also when your mother died, so it
DONNA KARAN: Well, I went in and I said I have this great new idea. I did Anne Klein, I did Anne
seems like this recurring thing. There’s always a yin-yang here.
Klein II. And I said I see this small little baby company for me and my friends, because I was getting
DONNA KARAN: The day of the show. So, I am having a show. I had a show and my mother was
very frustrated. So I said I just want to do these Seven Easy Pieces, my bodysuit. I go to yoga every
in the hospital with cancer, and I said-- In those days, she didn’t even know, and it was just one of
day. I was in yoga since I’m eighteen years old. You didn’t discuss my yoga world.
these things that was back and forth. She was up at Mt. Sinai. And I said I have a show that day.
FERN MALLIS: We’ll get there.
So I said, do not go anywhere. I had two shows that day, so I said, well, we’ll go to the hospital.
DONNA KARAN: So, see, that’s why I started the bodysuit, because I do yoga. And I wanted my
We’ll come back. We’ll go to the hospital. And then she passed away, the day of the show.
bodysuit, my leggings, my scarf. You know, I just wanted a wardrobe for me and my friends. That’s
FERN MALLIS: So you’ve cornered also the market on black fabric. You are the queen of black fabric.
it. So, they said to me, Donna, there’s nothing you can do that’s small. I said that is ridiculous. I said
DONNA KARAN: Don’t you like my new blacks?
I’ve done Anne Klein II, I’ve been at Anne Klein. I said I’m ready to do just the clothes for me and
FERN MALLIS: I love your black.
my friends. So I did that, and that was [INAUDIBLE], he said you’re fired because there’s nothing
DONNA KARAN: My new blacks.
you can do that’s small. And I said that’s ridiculous. If you keep me there, I’ll keep it small. And that
FERN MALLIS: And I’m wearing vintage Donna Karan collection, Urban Zen pants that I love
was the end of it. So, I did a collection and the rest is Donna Karan.
and a shirt from Essentials.
FERN MALLIS: So— Donna Karan--
DONNA KARAN: Are those my shoes, too?
DONNA KARAN: Louis stayed at Anne Klein II, Anne Klein. I moved on to Donna Karan, and I
FERN MALLIS: They’re not your shoes.
did it in my apartment. And that was my big design room. And
DONNA KARAN: Okay.
it was just me and a young designer that I had. So I was
FERN MALLIS: But these are yours--
sitting there, looking at Maud Frizon shoebox, and it said
DONNA KARAN: Okay.
Maud Frizon Paris, London. And I said what about Donna
FERN MALLIS: --from your collaboration with Robert Lee Morris.
Karan New York?
DONNA KARAN: Like my horn jewelry?
FERN MALLIS: Well, you opened up Donna Karan, and your
FERN MALLIS: Yes. How was DKNY born? And why?
mission and goal there was to define clothing for you and
DONNA KARAN: I needed a pair of jeans, again. you see, I always need a pair of jeans. I haven’t
your friends? Seven Easy Pieces. Describe what the Seven
got a pair of good-fitting jeans, it’s driving me crazy. You know, everybody makes jeans, but I
Easy Pieces were?
wanted a pair of jeans and T-shirts. And I wanted a collection that was not about clothing. It’s
DONNA KARAN: bodysuit--pants, and a wrap-around skirt
been my dream that I don’t want to do a collection just about fashion. So DKNY—I’ll never forget
because I would take the skirt off, I put the skirt on. A scarf, a
this—, Jane Chung, who was working with me on collection who I’d taken from Parsons School
sweater. See, I still dress that way, it’s really all I wear, a scarf,
of Design and had worked with me at Anne Klein, quit Anne Klein, thank God. She went to
sweater, you know, bodysuit, pants. See I’m a yogi so I can
Europe. And that’s why I could get her to be with me. So I mentored her. My daughter was
go anywhere I want in my pants.
actually her model at Parsons School of Design. She was a little kid doing clothing, which was
FERN MALLIS: And what was Stephan’s role in the company
really cute. I believe in family.
when you started it?
FERN MALLIS: Very much so.
DONNA KARAN: Well, it was just me and Stephan, he felt so
DONNA KARAN: So, where were we at? I just got lost. Help me out.
bad I was all by myself. I had nobody. It was just me--They just
FERN MALLIS: DKNY, making jeans, and--
fired me. I was all by myself, I had nobody.
DONNA KARAN: Okay, so, she came back, and she says to me, Donna I want to do this kind of
FERN MALLIS: But didn’t they put up money to set up the
less expensive jean. I said, Jane, I really want to do a lifestyle brand. I want to do from food, to
business?
flowers, to children’s clothes, to everything. And I wanted, because Donna Karan Collection was
DONNA KARAN: They gave me the production person, the person who used to go out and buy
sort of like, [WHISPERING] oh it’s so collection, you know. I wanted a collection sort of like New
fabrics with me, [Julius] Stern. He was fantastic, he was like my father. And he used to do all the
York. It was for me and my friends. But then my kids were wearing all my clothes, and we had a
fabrics. And everybody knew I am a fabric junky. I love fabric, I love color, I love everything to
real technical problem. Gabby would come into my closet with all her friends and steal all my
touch and feel. I’m very kind of sensual that way. And so he came in as the president of Donna
clothes. And I said this is ridiculous. My daughter is walking around in my evening dresses that
Karan. It was really a tiny little business. A little thing. It happened in my apartment. I had no
nobody would walk in, even myself, you know, that you wear them at the Oscars. And she went to
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetuer adipiscing elit. Aenean commodo ligula eget dolor. Aenean massa. Cum sociis natoque penatibus et magnis dis parturient montes, nascetur ridiculus mus. Donec quam felis,
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school with her boots and beaded clothes and all her other friends came into my closet and were wearing them, too. And I said, well, I’ve got to do a collection for my daughter. I mean, this is crazy. 21
FERN MALLIS: Okay. And a year after that, Tomio and Frank Mori, who ran Anne Klein, basically
design room, I had nothing. I mean it was really kind of funny.
fired you so that they could start another company. Want to tell us what that was like?
FERN MALLIS: And then when that business started--is also when your mother died, so it
DONNA KARAN: Well, I went in and I said I have this great new idea. I did Anne Klein, I did Anne
seems like this recurring thing. There’s always a yin-yang here.
Klein II. And I said I see this small little baby company for me and my friends, because I was getting
DONNA KARAN: The day of the show. So, I am having a show. I had a show and my mother was
very frustrated. So I said I just want to do these Seven Easy Pieces, my bodysuit. I go to yoga every
in the hospital with cancer, and I said-- In those days, she didn’t even know, and it was just one of
day. I was in yoga since I’m eighteen years old. You didn’t discuss my yoga world.
these things that was back and forth. She was up at Mt. Sinai. And I said I have a show that day.
FERN MALLIS: We’ll get there.
So I said, do not go anywhere. I had two shows that day, so I said, well, we’ll go to the hospital.
DONNA KARAN: So, see, that’s why I started the bodysuit, because I do yoga. And I wanted my
We’ll come back. We’ll go to the hospital. And then she passed away, the day of the show.
bodysuit, my leggings, my scarf. You know, I just wanted a wardrobe for me and my friends. That’s
FERN MALLIS: So you’ve cornered also the market on black fabric. You are the queen of black fabric.
it. So, they said to me, Donna, there’s nothing you can do that’s small. I said that is ridiculous. I said
DONNA KARAN: Don’t you like my new blacks?
I’ve done Anne Klein II, I’ve been at Anne Klein. I said I’m ready to do just the clothes for me and
FERN MALLIS: I love your black.
my friends. So I did that, and that was [INAUDIBLE], he said you’re fired because there’s nothing
DONNA KARAN: My new blacks.
you can do that’s small. And I said that’s ridiculous. If you keep me there, I’ll keep it small. And that
FERN MALLIS: And I’m wearing vintage Donna Karan collection, Urban Zen pants that I love
was the end of it. So, I did a collection and the rest is Donna Karan.
and a shirt from Essentials.
FERN MALLIS: So— Donna Karan--
DONNA KARAN: Are those my shoes, too?
DONNA KARAN: Louis stayed at Anne Klein II, Anne Klein. I moved on to Donna Karan, and I
FERN MALLIS: They’re not your shoes.
did it in my apartment. And that was my big design room. And
DONNA KARAN: Okay.
it was just me and a young designer that I had. So I was
FERN MALLIS: But these are yours--
sitting there, looking at Maud Frizon shoebox, and it said
DONNA KARAN: Okay.
Maud Frizon Paris, London. And I said what about Donna
FERN MALLIS: --from your collaboration with Robert Lee Morris.
Karan New York?
DONNA KARAN: Like my horn jewelry?
FERN MALLIS: Well, you opened up Donna Karan, and your
FERN MALLIS: Yes. How was DKNY born? And why?
mission and goal there was to define clothing for you and
DONNA KARAN: I needed a pair of jeans, again. you see, I always need a pair of jeans. I haven’t
your friends? Seven Easy Pieces. Describe what the Seven
got a pair of good-fitting jeans, it’s driving me crazy. You know, everybody makes jeans, but I
Easy Pieces were?
wanted a pair of jeans and T-shirts. And I wanted a collection that was not about clothing. It’s
DONNA KARAN: bodysuit--pants, and a wrap-around skirt
been my dream that I don’t want to do a collection just about fashion. So DKNY—I’ll never forget
because I would take the skirt off, I put the skirt on. A scarf, a
this—, Jane Chung, who was working with me on collection who I’d taken from Parsons School
sweater. See, I still dress that way, it’s really all I wear, a scarf,
of Design and had worked with me at Anne Klein, quit Anne Klein, thank God. She went to
sweater, you know, bodysuit, pants. See I’m a yogi so I can
Europe. And that’s why I could get her to be with me. So I mentored her. My daughter was
go anywhere I want in my pants.
actually her model at Parsons School of Design. She was a little kid doing clothing, which was
FERN MALLIS: And what was Stephan’s role in the company
really cute. I believe in family.
when you started it?
FERN MALLIS: Very much so.
DONNA KARAN: Well, it was just me and Stephan, he felt so
DONNA KARAN: So, where were we at? I just got lost. Help me out.
bad I was all by myself. I had nobody. It was just me--They just
FERN MALLIS: DKNY, making jeans, and--
fired me. I was all by myself, I had nobody.
DONNA KARAN: Okay, so, she came back, and she says to me, Donna I want to do this kind of
FERN MALLIS: But didn’t they put up money to set up the
less expensive jean. I said, Jane, I really want to do a lifestyle brand. I want to do from food, to
business?
flowers, to children’s clothes, to everything. And I wanted, because Donna Karan Collection was
DONNA KARAN: They gave me the production person, the person who used to go out and buy
sort of like, [WHISPERING] oh it’s so collection, you know. I wanted a collection sort of like New
fabrics with me, [Julius] Stern. He was fantastic, he was like my father. And he used to do all the
York. It was for me and my friends. But then my kids were wearing all my clothes, and we had a
fabrics. And everybody knew I am a fabric junky. I love fabric, I love color, I love everything to
real technical problem. Gabby would come into my closet with all her friends and steal all my
touch and feel. I’m very kind of sensual that way. And so he came in as the president of Donna
clothes. And I said this is ridiculous. My daughter is walking around in my evening dresses that
Karan. It was really a tiny little business. A little thing. It happened in my apartment. I had no
nobody would walk in, even myself, you know, that you wear them at the Oscars. And she went to
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetuer adipiscing elit. Aenean commodo ligula eget dolor. Aenean massa. Cum sociis natoque penatibus et magnis dis parturient montes, nascetur ridiculus mus. Donec quam felis,
20
school with her boots and beaded clothes and all her other friends came into my closet and were wearing them, too. And I said, well, I’ve got to do a collection for my daughter. I mean, this is crazy. 21
DONNA KARAN: Best friends forever, that is the truth. Actually I’m going to go see her
The man is a genius.
tomorrow, I hope.
FERN MALLIS: That’s a good thing to
FERN MALLIS: Oh, good. I hope you tell her you shared this story. Do you get upset when you
know. So he’s never been wrong, even
see her wearing some unflattering clothes, which she often does, when she’s not wearing Donna?
in sizing.
DONNA KARAN: I can’t say that. Do you want me to get killed? No, -- Barbra looks perfect no
DONNA KARAN: Ever. Ever, ever, ever.
matter what she does.
I mean, he is my inspiration of everything
FERN MALLIS: Good answer.
that I do.
DONNA KARAN: You hear that, Barbra?
FERN MALLIS: And then you got
DONNA KARAN: What about the wedding dress I did for her? That was a good story.
Hillary into the cold shoulder dress,
FERN MALLIS: Tell us about that.
during the inauguration.
DONNA KARAN: Barbra’s a designer. You don’t understand. We are doing a collection together.
DONNA KARAN: Well wait a second.
Barbra does everything. No, Barbra is a great designer. So she tells me she’s getting married
That was the dress that Women’s Wear Daily said was the worst thing I ever designed,
and she says I need a dress. And of course she sketched it. I am not the designer, Barbra’s the
practically. Because they took off the jacket, and I figured, day-to-night, you go to work, you have
designer. I make her clothes. So there was Barbra’s dress and my dress. So I made two dresses
a turtleneck wonderful dress on, and then you go out and you have your shoulders cut out. And
for her wedding. It was really, really amazing. And I’ll never forget this moment as long as I live.
the one thing for all of you women, we all know by now, that the only place you never gain weight
It’s just sheer perfection. And I said Barbra, okay, you can wear that dress or that dress. That’s
on is your shoulder. It’s a guarantee.
yours and this is mine. We put on my dress and she liked it, thank God.
FERN MALLIS: Which is a great [line] to know.
FERN MALLIS: And that’s the one she got married in?
DONNA KARAN: It is a guarantee, you will never ever gain weight on your shoulder. Every other
DONNA KARAN: So she got married in my dress.
place, I can’t talk about. But the shoulder, you’ll never gain weight. So I did this dress with these
FERN MALLIS: Great. How did you first meet and get to dress Bill Clinton?
cut-out shoulders. I got killed in Women’s Wear Daily for it. Liza Minnelli goes into my closet,
DONNA KARAN: So he calls me up on the phone. he said he was going to be president. We
pulls out the cold shoulder dress and wears it. And gets great photographs. How did Hillary get
were going to the inauguration--
that dress? I have no idea? She bought it? Retail? [I mean, it’s amazing.]
[INTERPOSING VOICES]
FERN MALLIS: She has to buy it retail. You’re not allowed to give them clothes.
DONNA KARAN: I met President Clinton through Barbra. He is a very tall man, as we know. My
DONNA KARAN: So, there it is, Hillary Clinton in the cold shoulder dress. and that started a lot
husband is much shorter than him, and my husband wears a forty-two long. So he calls me,
of cold shoulder dresses.
Donna, I need a suit for the inauguration. I go-- Now this is four days before the inauguration. I
DONNA KARAN: Well you know how fragrance started.
call my guys and said you’ve got to do me a favor. I said what size are you? He said fifty-four
FERN MALLIS: Well, yeah, it’s a wonderful story. Tell everybody that.
long. I said you are not fifty-four long, you are fifty-four extra long. He says no I’m fifty-four long.
DONNA KARAN: My husband did it. My husband said, Donna, you can do all the clothes you
I said, what am I going to do? So he needed a tuxedo. I called Martin Greenfield. I said Martin,
want, but unless we make fragrance, we’re not going to be in business,
whatever it is, you’ve got to make these tuxedos for me. And he makes me a fifty-four long and
so he actually, every night, he made the fragrances. And I said, I want it to smell like my husband’s
fifty-four extra long. This is the God-damn true story. And Barbra and I are at the ball, you know?
neck. I gave him a casablanca lily and a piece of suede. I said if you can put a casablanca lily
Now, if anybody’s been to Washington for the ceremony, I mean, you have no idea. This ball
with a piece of suede and my husband’s neck, I’ll talk to you about fragrance. And I worked every
you’re standing like this. You cannot move an inch, an ounce, or anything. And we think we’re at
single day, and my husband had all the oils and he was mixing all the oils, and I swear to God,
a ball, we’re going to have dinner at a ball. No, it’s not like that at all. And we’re in the Arkansas
this is what my life was like, Stephan making fragrances. And we went into the fragrance
ball, and it was getting a little cramped, and everybody was taking everybody’s pictures, and
business, and Stephan designed the bottles, and my husband was such a Virgo. He gave me
we’re standing in the VIP room, and all of a sudden they say, come on, the president’s coming.
three bottles to choose from.. So Stephan started the beauty business, really, himself. You know,
Come on, come on. They put us up on stage with the president and Hillary. And he says, I want
I went down there and I said Stephan, you don’t understand. When they said I have to do
you to meet my family.
shampoo, conditioner, and all the other stuff, I said Stephan, I am not going to put fragrance in
FERN MALLIS: Nice.
my hair. I mean, there’s not even a maybe. So I said, if I’m going to do fragrance in my hair and
DONNA KARAN: And Barbra, me, his daughter Chelsea who’s about this tall, his mother, who’s
body lotion all over, I want my fragrance to be my fragrance and my body lotion and my hair
amazing woman, and my husband, Stephan, Richard Baskin, who was a dear, dear friend of
products to be like that. So, we designed our own special hair shampoo. And I was very, very
mine, and [Ellen Gilbert] and her husband. He says I want you to meet my family. He comes over
particular about how the shampoo would feel, because that’s what I really cared about, the body
to me, and the first [word out of my mouth], what size are you wearing, fifty-four long or extra long? Long. I go shit. I couldn’t believe it. He actually was right. The man has never been wrong.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetuer adipiscing elit. Aenean commodo ligula eget dolor. Aenean massa. Cum sociis natoque penatibus et magnis dis parturient montes, nascetur ridiculus mus. Donec quam felis,
24
25
DONNA KARAN: Best friends forever, that is the truth. Actually I’m going to go see her
The man is a genius.
tomorrow, I hope.
FERN MALLIS: That’s a good thing to
FERN MALLIS: Oh, good. I hope you tell her you shared this story. Do you get upset when you
know. So he’s never been wrong, even
see her wearing some unflattering clothes, which she often does, when she’s not wearing Donna?
in sizing.
DONNA KARAN: I can’t say that. Do you want me to get killed? No, -- Barbra looks perfect no
DONNA KARAN: Ever. Ever, ever, ever.
matter what she does.
I mean, he is my inspiration of everything
FERN MALLIS: Good answer.
that I do.
DONNA KARAN: You hear that, Barbra?
FERN MALLIS: And then you got
DONNA KARAN: What about the wedding dress I did for her? That was a good story.
Hillary into the cold shoulder dress,
FERN MALLIS: Tell us about that.
during the inauguration.
DONNA KARAN: Barbra’s a designer. You don’t understand. We are doing a collection together.
DONNA KARAN: Well wait a second.
Barbra does everything. No, Barbra is a great designer. So she tells me she’s getting married
That was the dress that Women’s Wear Daily said was the worst thing I ever designed,
and she says I need a dress. And of course she sketched it. I am not the designer, Barbra’s the
practically. Because they took off the jacket, and I figured, day-to-night, you go to work, you have
designer. I make her clothes. So there was Barbra’s dress and my dress. So I made two dresses
a turtleneck wonderful dress on, and then you go out and you have your shoulders cut out. And
for her wedding. It was really, really amazing. And I’ll never forget this moment as long as I live.
the one thing for all of you women, we all know by now, that the only place you never gain weight
It’s just sheer perfection. And I said Barbra, okay, you can wear that dress or that dress. That’s
on is your shoulder. It’s a guarantee.
yours and this is mine. We put on my dress and she liked it, thank God.
FERN MALLIS: Which is a great [line] to know.
FERN MALLIS: And that’s the one she got married in?
DONNA KARAN: It is a guarantee, you will never ever gain weight on your shoulder. Every other
DONNA KARAN: So she got married in my dress.
place, I can’t talk about. But the shoulder, you’ll never gain weight. So I did this dress with these
FERN MALLIS: Great. How did you first meet and get to dress Bill Clinton?
cut-out shoulders. I got killed in Women’s Wear Daily for it. Liza Minnelli goes into my closet,
DONNA KARAN: So he calls me up on the phone. he said he was going to be president. We
pulls out the cold shoulder dress and wears it. And gets great photographs. How did Hillary get
were going to the inauguration--
that dress? I have no idea? She bought it? Retail? [I mean, it’s amazing.]
[INTERPOSING VOICES]
FERN MALLIS: She has to buy it retail. You’re not allowed to give them clothes.
DONNA KARAN: I met President Clinton through Barbra. He is a very tall man, as we know. My
DONNA KARAN: So, there it is, Hillary Clinton in the cold shoulder dress. and that started a lot
husband is much shorter than him, and my husband wears a forty-two long. So he calls me,
of cold shoulder dresses.
Donna, I need a suit for the inauguration. I go-- Now this is four days before the inauguration. I
DONNA KARAN: Well you know how fragrance started.
call my guys and said you’ve got to do me a favor. I said what size are you? He said fifty-four
FERN MALLIS: Well, yeah, it’s a wonderful story. Tell everybody that.
long. I said you are not fifty-four long, you are fifty-four extra long. He says no I’m fifty-four long.
DONNA KARAN: My husband did it. My husband said, Donna, you can do all the clothes you
I said, what am I going to do? So he needed a tuxedo. I called Martin Greenfield. I said Martin,
want, but unless we make fragrance, we’re not going to be in business,
whatever it is, you’ve got to make these tuxedos for me. And he makes me a fifty-four long and
so he actually, every night, he made the fragrances. And I said, I want it to smell like my husband’s
fifty-four extra long. This is the God-damn true story. And Barbra and I are at the ball, you know?
neck. I gave him a casablanca lily and a piece of suede. I said if you can put a casablanca lily
Now, if anybody’s been to Washington for the ceremony, I mean, you have no idea. This ball
with a piece of suede and my husband’s neck, I’ll talk to you about fragrance. And I worked every
you’re standing like this. You cannot move an inch, an ounce, or anything. And we think we’re at
single day, and my husband had all the oils and he was mixing all the oils, and I swear to God,
a ball, we’re going to have dinner at a ball. No, it’s not like that at all. And we’re in the Arkansas
this is what my life was like, Stephan making fragrances. And we went into the fragrance
ball, and it was getting a little cramped, and everybody was taking everybody’s pictures, and
business, and Stephan designed the bottles, and my husband was such a Virgo. He gave me
we’re standing in the VIP room, and all of a sudden they say, come on, the president’s coming.
three bottles to choose from.. So Stephan started the beauty business, really, himself. You know,
Come on, come on. They put us up on stage with the president and Hillary. And he says, I want
I went down there and I said Stephan, you don’t understand. When they said I have to do
you to meet my family.
shampoo, conditioner, and all the other stuff, I said Stephan, I am not going to put fragrance in
FERN MALLIS: Nice.
my hair. I mean, there’s not even a maybe. So I said, if I’m going to do fragrance in my hair and
DONNA KARAN: And Barbra, me, his daughter Chelsea who’s about this tall, his mother, who’s
body lotion all over, I want my fragrance to be my fragrance and my body lotion and my hair
amazing woman, and my husband, Stephan, Richard Baskin, who was a dear, dear friend of
products to be like that. So, we designed our own special hair shampoo. And I was very, very
mine, and [Ellen Gilbert] and her husband. He says I want you to meet my family. He comes over
particular about how the shampoo would feel, because that’s what I really cared about, the body
to me, and the first [word out of my mouth], what size are you wearing, fifty-four long or extra long? Long. I go shit. I couldn’t believe it. He actually was right. The man has never been wrong.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetuer adipiscing elit. Aenean commodo ligula eget dolor. Aenean massa. Cum sociis natoque penatibus et magnis dis parturient montes, nascetur ridiculus mus. Donec quam felis,
24
25
products, all the moisturizers and all of that. And we created these amazing, amazing things. And it wasn’t smelling like the fragrance, and everybody loved it so much, we had to make a fragrance from the body products-FERN MALLIS: Mhm. DONNA KARAN: So I was in the fragrance business. We had gone public. Did I say? Did we go public yet? FERN MALLIS: No, we didn’t. No, you didn’t say that. DONNA KARAN: So we had all these businesses, yes. We had the beauty business and - So we made candles. We made everything that I wanted. FERN MALLIS: Big candles. DONNA KARAN: Big candles. I said in the beauty department we had candles, we had oils, everything that was everything that I loved. So it was beauty through a whole other lens other than what fragrance was. FERN MALLIS: Then you sold it to Estée Lauder? DONNA KARAN: Mhm. FERN MALLIS: A few years later. Okay, it worked well on that. But your first stores, both DKNY and Donna Karan, were in London. Why London and not New York? DONNA KARAN: Because we didn’t open them. No. This girl comes to me—woman—Christina Ong, and I hadn’t known about her yet. And she said, oh I found this amazing store for Donna Karan, and it was in London. And I went on Bond Street, and she showed it to me. And I said this is not a Donna Karan store. So I said it’s DKNY. And I said, and it had to have an escalator in it, it’s because it was real kind of energy kind of store. And I said, I can’t open this as Donna Karan, but if you want to do a DKNY store, I’ll do it. So we opened up DKNY before Donna Karan. And then I found a place that I would do Donna Karan in, and I will never forget that moment because she gave it to me and I worked with Peter-- Not Peter Arnell. Patti? FERN MALLIS: Peter Marino? DONNA KARAN: Peter Marino, thank you. Thank you, Fern. And I’m in the store and it was architectural and it was everything and it was fantastic. And I called Christina, and I said there was too much white in the store. I said, could you paint a little bit more black? So, I basically had a black store. And it was really one of the first. But it was very sculptural and artistic and all of that. So now that I did these stores, I wanted to do a store on Madison Avenue. What happened first, DKNY or Donna Karan? FERN MALLIS: [INAUDIBLE]. In New York? DKNY. DONNA KARAN: DKNY was first. So I said, you don’t understand, I don’t want a store, I want to make sure that there’s a coffee shop there, the bicycles, I want people to walk in. I want DKNY to be a part of the street scene, like I wanted the café on the first floor. We had a big fight about this. Because I wanted a café <0:55:00> because I figured if people would come in and buy juices and café, maybe they’d go buy clothes. Because it was really about what they were going to eat and all of that on the first floor, because I figured they had Barneys across the street and everybody there, so I wanted that kind of look. But I then wanted collection to be a sanctuary kind of thing. And it was actually the first Urban Zen store. FERN MALLIS: Okay, so, around that time Stephan was diagnosed with lung cancer, Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetuer adipiscing elit. Aenean commodo ligula eget dolor. Aenean massa. Cum sociis natoque penatibus et magnis dis parturient montes, nascetur ridiculus mus. Donec quam felis,
26
27
products, all the moisturizers and all of that. And we created these amazing, amazing things. And it wasn’t smelling like the fragrance, and everybody loved it so much, we had to make a fragrance from the body products-FERN MALLIS: Mhm. DONNA KARAN: So I was in the fragrance business. We had gone public. Did I say? Did we go public yet? FERN MALLIS: No, we didn’t. No, you didn’t say that. DONNA KARAN: So we had all these businesses, yes. We had the beauty business and - So we made candles. We made everything that I wanted. FERN MALLIS: Big candles. DONNA KARAN: Big candles. I said in the beauty department we had candles, we had oils, everything that was everything that I loved. So it was beauty through a whole other lens other than what fragrance was. FERN MALLIS: Then you sold it to Estée Lauder? DONNA KARAN: Mhm. FERN MALLIS: A few years later. Okay, it worked well on that. But your first stores, both DKNY and Donna Karan, were in London. Why London and not New York? DONNA KARAN: Because we didn’t open them. No. This girl comes to me—woman—Christina Ong, and I hadn’t known about her yet. And she said, oh I found this amazing store for Donna Karan, and it was in London. And I went on Bond Street, and she showed it to me. And I said this is not a Donna Karan store. So I said it’s DKNY. And I said, and it had to have an escalator in it, it’s because it was real kind of energy kind of store. And I said, I can’t open this as Donna Karan, but if you want to do a DKNY store, I’ll do it. So we opened up DKNY before Donna Karan. And then I found a place that I would do Donna Karan in, and I will never forget that moment because she gave it to me and I worked with Peter-- Not Peter Arnell. Patti? FERN MALLIS: Peter Marino? DONNA KARAN: Peter Marino, thank you. Thank you, Fern. And I’m in the store and it was architectural and it was everything and it was fantastic. And I called Christina, and I said there was too much white in the store. I said, could you paint a little bit more black? So, I basically had a black store. And it was really one of the first. But it was very sculptural and artistic and all of that. So now that I did these stores, I wanted to do a store on Madison Avenue. What happened first, DKNY or Donna Karan? FERN MALLIS: [INAUDIBLE]. In New York? DKNY. DONNA KARAN: DKNY was first. So I said, you don’t understand, I don’t want a store, I want to make sure that there’s a coffee shop there, the bicycles, I want people to walk in. I want DKNY to be a part of the street scene, like I wanted the café on the first floor. We had a big fight about this. Because I wanted a café <0:55:00> because I figured if people would come in and buy juices and café, maybe they’d go buy clothes. Because it was really about what they were going to eat and all of that on the first floor, because I figured they had Barneys across the street and everybody there, so I wanted that kind of look. But I then wanted collection to be a sanctuary kind of thing. And it was actually the first Urban Zen store. FERN MALLIS: Okay, so, around that time Stephan was diagnosed with lung cancer, Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetuer adipiscing elit. Aenean commodo ligula eget dolor. Aenean massa. Cum sociis natoque penatibus et magnis dis parturient montes, nascetur ridiculus mus. Donec quam felis,
26
27
the hospital, and we started one floor of a hospital. We have just found out, if I would tell you
the room with a thousand people there, who are all caring, trying to change the world. And in an
how much money is saved by this integrative therapist, how much less medication you take, that
industry that really cares about a lot of that, she’s the only one there. And I applaud you on that.
this is a proven fact.
DONNA KARAN: Thank you, Fern.
FERN MALLIS: It helps.
[APPLAUSE]
DONNA KARAN: So this is showing a new way of doing it. Now the same with education, because
DONNA KARAN: He’s my inspiration. The man is a genius.
if you bring these tools into the educational system, the student is going to be able to receive the
FERN MALLIS: A few more questions because, then, I know we want to talk a little bit about
information on a much higher level. And that’s what-- So I align with—this is not about me, Donna
Haiti, because that’s near and dear to your heart. What would you say if you can, in one sentence,
Karan—I align with the brightest, most
Donna, your legacy as a designer?
important people who are doing this out
DONNA KARAN: I guess really not to dress people on the outside but to dress them on the inside.
there in the medical field and in the
FERN MALLIS: Perfect.
educational field. So I think the Y is the
DONNA KARAN: It’s the totality and--
perfect place to do it.
FERN MALLIS: Is it possible to describe a day in Donna’s life?
FERN MALLIS: Okay. Let’s move on
DONNA KARAN: Yeah. Really simple. I don’t like to get up in the morning. I am not a morning
because I know there’s some things that
person, really. I have to have either my yoga, I have to have my green juice. Give me a green juice
you still care a lot about that we want to
in the morning if you want to get me started.
get to. We have a few more things. And I
FERN MALLIS: Is it wheatgrass or just a mix of green vegetables?
do want to acknowledge your commitment
DONNA KARAN: Green vegetables. I’m a juicer. I start with my green juice, I start with yoga or
to philanthropy and charity--
pilates. Now I’ve gotten into pilates, I really like pilates a lot. It helps you. Helps me fit into my
DONNA KARAN: It started with you, Fern.
pants. And I’m a little cranky in the morning. It’s really funny, but I am. I think as I’m getting older
FERN MALLIS: --working at CFDA’s 7th
it’s a little bit [INAUDIBLE], so I usually consider until ten o’clock my time.
on Sale, clearly was Donna’s initiative to
FERN MALLIS: Fair enough.
push through and create some of the most extraordinary AIDS benefits and raise millions of
DONNA KARAN: And then when I start my day, it goes until two o’clock in the morning.
dollars. You are one of the first chairpersons of Fashion Targets Breast Cancer, Kids for Kids for
FERN MALLIS: Yup. Were you ever approached by Target or H&M to do special collections?
Pediatric AIDS, the Elizabeth Glaser Foundation, is all a hundred percent Donna, who’s shared
DONNA KARAN: I’m sure. I don’t know if I can say that in front of Mark.
that and made that happen and has followed through on that for many, many years. Super
FERN MALLIS: So is that something we can expect to happen in the future?
Saturday, if any of you have gone to that in the Hamptons, was started for the Ovarian Cancer
DONNA KARAN: I don’t know, you have to ask Mark. My boss is over there, I have to watch out.
Research Fund in memory of Liz Tilberis, who passed away from ovarian cancer and who was
FERN MALLIS: Do you feel a sense of responsibility, being like the most famous women’s
the editor of Harper’s Bazaar. Donna really is the one who’s made that happen. And how much
designer?
money has that raised now, after all these years? Do you [know]?
DONNA KARAN: I don’t think I am.
DONNA KARAN: The last year, we raised, what was it, Patti? Thirty?
FERN MALLIS: Who do you think is?
PATTI COHEN: Over four million.
DONNA KARAN: I don’t know. It must be other people. Miuccia Prada? I mean, it’s different,
FERN MALLIS: Over four million in just one day in Bridgehampton.
we’re different people. You know, what I’m very, very proud of is that I really don’t consider
DONNA KARAN: It started in the backyard of Liz Tilberis’s house. I called Liz up and I said
myself a fashion designer. I mean, it’s one of the things that I do.
listen, we’ve done 7th on Sale, nobody knows about ovarian cancer for women, why don’t we
FERN MALLIS: [It’s just one].
all empty our closets—which is the cool thing to do—and bring all our stuff together in your
DONNA KARAN: If you ask Barbra is she a singer, she does not see herself as a singer.
backyard and start to sell art, photography, and everything, and bring together philanthropy and
FERN MALLIS: Well, she’s a singer, she’s a director, she’s a--
commerce, and really raise awareness to ovarian cancer. And that started in the backyard of
DONNA KARAN: She’s everything. You know, she’s an actress, she’s a singer, she’s a
Liz’s. My husband was sick with lung cancer at the time. And now today, Super Saturday--
philanthropist. I mean she’s very involved in politics. And--
FERN MALLIS: Now the entire industry clears out its closets and sells its stuff out there. And
FERN MALLIS: Who is the next Donna Karan?
then the Clinton Global Initiative, which I know I’ve had the privilege of going to for several years.
DONNA KARAN: My daughter. Gabby? No, everybody’s their own individual. I don’t think
And I have to tell you when the Clinton Global Initiative is on, the most extraordinary people in
anybody’s-- I don’t know who they are. And I think there are--
every facet of life are there trying to help change the world. And Donna is the only designer in
FERN MALLIS: Whose work do you admire now? Do you follow the young, next generation of
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetuer adipiscing elit. Aenean commodo ligula eget dolor. Aenean massa. Cum sociis natoque penatibus et magnis dis parturient montes, nascetur ridiculus mus. Donec quam felis,
32
designers? DONNA KARAN: Oh sure. 33
the hospital, and we started one floor of a hospital. We have just found out, if I would tell you
the room with a thousand people there, who are all caring, trying to change the world. And in an
how much money is saved by this integrative therapist, how much less medication you take, that
industry that really cares about a lot of that, she’s the only one there. And I applaud you on that.
this is a proven fact.
DONNA KARAN: Thank you, Fern.
FERN MALLIS: It helps.
[APPLAUSE]
DONNA KARAN: So this is showing a new way of doing it. Now the same with education, because
DONNA KARAN: He’s my inspiration. The man is a genius.
if you bring these tools into the educational system, the student is going to be able to receive the
FERN MALLIS: A few more questions because, then, I know we want to talk a little bit about
information on a much higher level. And that’s what-- So I align with—this is not about me, Donna
Haiti, because that’s near and dear to your heart. What would you say if you can, in one sentence,
Karan—I align with the brightest, most
Donna, your legacy as a designer?
important people who are doing this out
DONNA KARAN: I guess really not to dress people on the outside but to dress them on the inside.
there in the medical field and in the
FERN MALLIS: Perfect.
educational field. So I think the Y is the
DONNA KARAN: It’s the totality and--
perfect place to do it.
FERN MALLIS: Is it possible to describe a day in Donna’s life?
FERN MALLIS: Okay. Let’s move on
DONNA KARAN: Yeah. Really simple. I don’t like to get up in the morning. I am not a morning
because I know there’s some things that
person, really. I have to have either my yoga, I have to have my green juice. Give me a green juice
you still care a lot about that we want to
in the morning if you want to get me started.
get to. We have a few more things. And I
FERN MALLIS: Is it wheatgrass or just a mix of green vegetables?
do want to acknowledge your commitment
DONNA KARAN: Green vegetables. I’m a juicer. I start with my green juice, I start with yoga or
to philanthropy and charity--
pilates. Now I’ve gotten into pilates, I really like pilates a lot. It helps you. Helps me fit into my
DONNA KARAN: It started with you, Fern.
pants. And I’m a little cranky in the morning. It’s really funny, but I am. I think as I’m getting older
FERN MALLIS: --working at CFDA’s 7th
it’s a little bit [INAUDIBLE], so I usually consider until ten o’clock my time.
on Sale, clearly was Donna’s initiative to
FERN MALLIS: Fair enough.
push through and create some of the most extraordinary AIDS benefits and raise millions of
DONNA KARAN: And then when I start my day, it goes until two o’clock in the morning.
dollars. You are one of the first chairpersons of Fashion Targets Breast Cancer, Kids for Kids for
FERN MALLIS: Yup. Were you ever approached by Target or H&M to do special collections?
Pediatric AIDS, the Elizabeth Glaser Foundation, is all a hundred percent Donna, who’s shared
DONNA KARAN: I’m sure. I don’t know if I can say that in front of Mark.
that and made that happen and has followed through on that for many, many years. Super
FERN MALLIS: So is that something we can expect to happen in the future?
Saturday, if any of you have gone to that in the Hamptons, was started for the Ovarian Cancer
DONNA KARAN: I don’t know, you have to ask Mark. My boss is over there, I have to watch out.
Research Fund in memory of Liz Tilberis, who passed away from ovarian cancer and who was
FERN MALLIS: Do you feel a sense of responsibility, being like the most famous women’s
the editor of Harper’s Bazaar. Donna really is the one who’s made that happen. And how much
designer?
money has that raised now, after all these years? Do you [know]?
DONNA KARAN: I don’t think I am.
DONNA KARAN: The last year, we raised, what was it, Patti? Thirty?
FERN MALLIS: Who do you think is?
PATTI COHEN: Over four million.
DONNA KARAN: I don’t know. It must be other people. Miuccia Prada? I mean, it’s different,
FERN MALLIS: Over four million in just one day in Bridgehampton.
we’re different people. You know, what I’m very, very proud of is that I really don’t consider
DONNA KARAN: It started in the backyard of Liz Tilberis’s house. I called Liz up and I said
myself a fashion designer. I mean, it’s one of the things that I do.
listen, we’ve done 7th on Sale, nobody knows about ovarian cancer for women, why don’t we
FERN MALLIS: [It’s just one].
all empty our closets—which is the cool thing to do—and bring all our stuff together in your
DONNA KARAN: If you ask Barbra is she a singer, she does not see herself as a singer.
backyard and start to sell art, photography, and everything, and bring together philanthropy and
FERN MALLIS: Well, she’s a singer, she’s a director, she’s a--
commerce, and really raise awareness to ovarian cancer. And that started in the backyard of
DONNA KARAN: She’s everything. You know, she’s an actress, she’s a singer, she’s a
Liz’s. My husband was sick with lung cancer at the time. And now today, Super Saturday--
philanthropist. I mean she’s very involved in politics. And--
FERN MALLIS: Now the entire industry clears out its closets and sells its stuff out there. And
FERN MALLIS: Who is the next Donna Karan?
then the Clinton Global Initiative, which I know I’ve had the privilege of going to for several years.
DONNA KARAN: My daughter. Gabby? No, everybody’s their own individual. I don’t think
And I have to tell you when the Clinton Global Initiative is on, the most extraordinary people in
anybody’s-- I don’t know who they are. And I think there are--
every facet of life are there trying to help change the world. And Donna is the only designer in
FERN MALLIS: Whose work do you admire now? Do you follow the young, next generation of
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetuer adipiscing elit. Aenean commodo ligula eget dolor. Aenean massa. Cum sociis natoque penatibus et magnis dis parturient montes, nascetur ridiculus mus. Donec quam felis,
32
designers? DONNA KARAN: Oh sure. 33
FERN MALLIS: Who do you like? DONNA KARAN: A lot of them. FERN MALLIS: You want to throw out a name here or there? DONNA KARAN: They’re different. It’s different now. FERN MALLIS: What advice do you give aspiring designers, since they all want to be you? DONNA KARAN: I would tell them not. Are they that crazy? The one thing I’ll have to say, you’re not, you don’t have to aspire. You either are or you’re not. I mean I wish I could take time to relax. People say to me, oh Donna, you could just go and travel and this. I can’t do that. I wish I would. My daughter keeps on telling me, mommy, go away. Do something. I’m a designer. I mean, it’s who I am. You know, I’ll have time afterwards, when I go meet Stephan. A lot more to do. FERN MALLIS: [INAUDIBLE] get there [INAUDIBLE]. DONNA KARAN: I mean my clock is ticking. I got a lot of work to do out there. FERN MALLIS: Well, that’s my question-DONNA KARAN: I mean it’s freaking me out a little bit. I’m getting older and I’m worried about this world. I mean we’re going into a major, major issue right now. I mean I can’t sit here and just sit back and go la, la-la, la-la, la-la, la. We’re responsible citizens today. And I don’t want anybody to point the finger at the government. It’s not the government’s problem, it’s our problem. Everybody, point your finger, and don’t blame them, blame yourself. You all, every one of us is responsible. If there’s a problem in the world, we’re all responsible for it. [APPLAUSE] FERN MALLIS: So where do you go to get nourished so you can fight the fight? DONNA KARAN: If anybody would say-- My granddaughter goes like this, Haiti-Haiti-Haiti-Haiti. And Gabby knows—this is very funny—because we just had a family vacation in Parrot Cay, and I have a wonderful, wonderful, amazing place in Parrot Cay. I love building hotels, I mean I really do. And Bali has been my inspiration. And, to me, Bali is really the model for the developing world. Bali, for me, is a place that I went to, through Christina Ong-FERN MALLIS: Someone asked a question about Bali, [about] your favorite artist is in Bali. DONNA KARAN: Oh, Bali Bali Bali Bali. I can’t tell anybody enough about Bali. Anybody I send to [Bhagawan], anyplace, for me, Bali really says it all because it preserves its culture. It is magnificent. I mean, there are very few places you can go in life right now. If you go to Madison Avenue, you go to [INAUDIBLE], you go to London, they’re all alike. Where do you go for the preservation of magnificence and culture? And Bali is just one of those places that has elevated itself because of its artists. And I design a lot of furniture there, people have known the work that I’ve done, you know, for my own [purposes], my personal one. I design for myself. I’m very selfish. So if I need something, I design it and then other people like it. It’s really usually what happens. So I design furniture there. But I design, life is there. The most amazing thing there is the bamboo school. FERN MALLIS: So is there a model? DONNA KARAN: Bamboo school, yes. FERN MALLIS: Is there a model there for what you’re doing in Haiti? DONNA KARAN: Haiti. That’s exactly the whole point. Bali is the model for me. And I can’t explain visions, I wish I could. But when Haiti happened, two years ago. It was two years ago today so I’d really like everybody to just reflect upon the fact of, two years ago, we’re sitting here Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetuer adipiscing elit. Aenean commodo ligula eget dolor. Aenean massa. Cum sociis natoque penatibus et magnis dis parturient montes, nascetur ridiculus mus. Donec quam felis,
34
35
FERN MALLIS: Who do you like? DONNA KARAN: A lot of them. FERN MALLIS: You want to throw out a name here or there? DONNA KARAN: They’re different. It’s different now. FERN MALLIS: What advice do you give aspiring designers, since they all want to be you? DONNA KARAN: I would tell them not. Are they that crazy? The one thing I’ll have to say, you’re not, you don’t have to aspire. You either are or you’re not. I mean I wish I could take time to relax. People say to me, oh Donna, you could just go and travel and this. I can’t do that. I wish I would. My daughter keeps on telling me, mommy, go away. Do something. I’m a designer. I mean, it’s who I am. You know, I’ll have time afterwards, when I go meet Stephan. A lot more to do. FERN MALLIS: [INAUDIBLE] get there [INAUDIBLE]. DONNA KARAN: I mean my clock is ticking. I got a lot of work to do out there. FERN MALLIS: Well, that’s my question-DONNA KARAN: I mean it’s freaking me out a little bit. I’m getting older and I’m worried about this world. I mean we’re going into a major, major issue right now. I mean I can’t sit here and just sit back and go la, la-la, la-la, la-la, la. We’re responsible citizens today. And I don’t want anybody to point the finger at the government. It’s not the government’s problem, it’s our problem. Everybody, point your finger, and don’t blame them, blame yourself. You all, every one of us is responsible. If there’s a problem in the world, we’re all responsible for it. [APPLAUSE] FERN MALLIS: So where do you go to get nourished so you can fight the fight? DONNA KARAN: If anybody would say-- My granddaughter goes like this, Haiti-Haiti-Haiti-Haiti. And Gabby knows—this is very funny—because we just had a family vacation in Parrot Cay, and I have a wonderful, wonderful, amazing place in Parrot Cay. I love building hotels, I mean I really do. And Bali has been my inspiration. And, to me, Bali is really the model for the developing world. Bali, for me, is a place that I went to, through Christina Ong-FERN MALLIS: Someone asked a question about Bali, [about] your favorite artist is in Bali. DONNA KARAN: Oh, Bali Bali Bali Bali. I can’t tell anybody enough about Bali. Anybody I send to [Bhagawan], anyplace, for me, Bali really says it all because it preserves its culture. It is magnificent. I mean, there are very few places you can go in life right now. If you go to Madison Avenue, you go to [INAUDIBLE], you go to London, they’re all alike. Where do you go for the preservation of magnificence and culture? And Bali is just one of those places that has elevated itself because of its artists. And I design a lot of furniture there, people have known the work that I’ve done, you know, for my own [purposes], my personal one. I design for myself. I’m very selfish. So if I need something, I design it and then other people like it. It’s really usually what happens. So I design furniture there. But I design, life is there. The most amazing thing there is the bamboo school. FERN MALLIS: So is there a model? DONNA KARAN: Bamboo school, yes. FERN MALLIS: Is there a model there for what you’re doing in Haiti? DONNA KARAN: Haiti. That’s exactly the whole point. Bali is the model for me. And I can’t explain visions, I wish I could. But when Haiti happened, two years ago. It was two years ago today so I’d really like everybody to just reflect upon the fact of, two years ago, we’re sitting here Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetuer adipiscing elit. Aenean commodo ligula eget dolor. Aenean massa. Cum sociis natoque penatibus et magnis dis parturient montes, nascetur ridiculus mus. Donec quam felis,
34
35