It's still a thrill for me after 20 years or more to be part of the fashion scene along with sitting in the first row, like I did in Milan & Paris, in the days when I went to buy the European collections for my Oak Street boutique. Interviewing the Queen Of Fashion, as she has been labeled, is indeed one of the perks of being part of the press.
Interviewing
Donna, is like talking to your BFF. Every answer is filled with the passion that she has for both fashion and giving back to help others. She believes that dressing the inside is as important as dressing the outside.
She admits that everything she designs could be perfect in her own closet and, often the dress you are looking at in
Neiman's on Michigan Ave, could have been one she designed to wear to an event like the Met Museum in NY.
So what did my new best friend share with me on her views:
BG: When you designed the sensual "cold shoulder dress" many celebrities wore it along with the first lady,
Hillary Clinton to the White House inauguration. Is the shoulder your favorite part of the body?
DK: WWD just couldn't get it. They hated it until
Liza MInnelli was shown wearing the dress. I say the best part on your body that doesn't age or gain weight is the shoulder.
BG: When you designed the 7 essentials in 1992, including the bodysuit and the wrap skirt, you, like
Coco Chanel helped to change the way working women dressed regardless of their age or size. How do you see the direction for you in the future?
DK: I was always aware of the woman's body especially today because they are busier than they ever have been before. I want to make traveling very easy for them. The clothing is versatile, it goes from day to evening and envelops every woman's personal style. Every woman big and small thinks that I cut exactly for them because of the flexibility of my fabrics and how we wrap the garments.
BG: Obviously women everywhere agree.
BG: Charity is priority for you as you recently donated $850,000 to the New York Beth Israel Medical Center for a grant to test the results of yoga, meditation and aromatherapy for cancer patients. Tell me more:
DK: I created the Urban Zen Foundation
(www.urbenzen.org) to raise awareness and inspire change. It is located in New York in my husband's former studio. It's about dressing on the inside as well as the outside. Soon I hope to open restaurants in hospitals serving good soups and juices for the body.
(For sponsorship please call 212.414.8520 or email
info@urbenzen.org)
BG: What do you see as the best and worst trends?
DK: The worst is the amount of change people expect from the fashion industry and no one actually absorbs the trends before they are phased out.
BG: What's the one thing you wouldn't leave home without?
DK: A scarf. You can use it in so many different ways.
BG: Of course Ms. Karan loves the scarf because her scarf in the new fall collection in one of the most exciting accessories that make everything in your wardrobe look new from a dress to a coat.
Check out the
DKNY Cozy: a chic and sophisticated wardrobe solution.
Twist it. Tie it. Wrap it. Or
Download it. And get wrapped up in an App.
Below, check out pics from the event and items from the runway showing of her Fall 2010 collection. Happy anniversary Donna Karan!
