DKNY is a New York City-based fashion house specializing in fashion goods for men and women, founded in 1984 by Donna Karan.
Karan worked for 15 years at Anne Klein, including 10 as its head designer. In 1984 Karan and her late husband Stephan Weiss were offered the opportunity to start their own business by the owner of Anne Klein, Takihyo LLC. The company became a publicly traded venture in 1996.
Karan launched Seven Easy Pieces with her first collection in 1984—and revolutionized the way women dress. A bodysuit, a tailored jacket, a skirt, pants, a cashmere sweater, a leather jacket, and an evening look. With Seven Easy Pieces, women could create infinite combinations with these easy-to-wear garments. Karan intuitively understood the need and desires of modern women, designing collections that could take them from day to evening and simplifying life, without sacrificing elegance or sensuality. As Donna's own life evolved, she was confronted with a new demand: a teenage daughter raiding her closet. And so came the next generation New Yorker: DKNY.
Donna Karan's mainline label Donna Karan New York, also referred as Donna Karan Collection, debuted for fall 1985 with the women's collection Seven Easy Pieces, "where a handful of interchangeable items work together to create an entire wardrobe that goes from day to evening, week day to weekend, season to season". In July 1991 she launched her first menswear collection.
Inspired by her daughter Gaby, Donna Karan founded DKNY in 1989 as a younger, more affordable diffusion line to run alongside her existing Donna Karan New York label. Many labels and brands have branched off of the original DKNY brand/label including DKNY Jeans, DKNY Active, DKNY Underwear, DKNY Juniors, DKNY Kids, DKNY Pure. DKNY Men, launched in 1992, consists of tailored suits, dress wear, formalwear, casual wear, sportswear, and shoes.
The Donna Karan Beauty collection, which specializes in fragrances, was launched in 1992. In 2001, the Donna Karan Home collection, which includes traditional luxury bedding and accessories, and DKNY Home, which has more contemporary and fashion-forward bedding, were introduced.
Stores opened in London in 1997 and New York City in 1999. The DKNY headquarters is located at 550 Seventh Avenue in Manhattan, New York. There are currently seventy Donna Karan collection and DKNY stores globally, including twenty stores in China including Hong Kong and Shanghai, two stores in Canada including Vancouver, B.C. and Montreal, four in Dubai and also two stores in Doha. DKNY has also opened some stores in Denmark. New shop in Athens Greece - 30 September 2019.
In 2001 it was purchased by the French conglomerate corporation LVMH (Louis Vuitton Moët Hennessy). In 2015 Donna Karan left as chief designer at Donna Karan International, to focus on her Urban Zen brand and Urban Zen Foundation philanthropy.]LVMH sold Donna Karan International, with the 'Donna Karan' and 'DKNY' brands, to the G-III Apparel Group in 2016 for $650 million. G-III, based in New York City, is a manufacturer and distributor of clothing and accessories under their owned brands, licensed brands, and private label brands.
Since 2005, Donna Karan has offered online shopping of its DKNY and associated lines at the label's web site. Products range from DKNY and DKNY Jeans womenswear, accessories, underwear, shoes, baby clothing, the PURE collection to DKNY menswear. The latter was available up until the spring 2002 season. Since then only the DKNY Jeans label, underwear, eyewear and watches have been offered online for men.
Cara Delevingne was the face of DKNY for multiple seasons in the mid 2010s. By 2017, Emily Ratajkowski had become the DKNY face.
More than 30 years later, Donna Karan is one of the most iconic names in American fashion. Her iconic silhouettes and innovative system of dressing remain as relevant as ever, now reimagined in a modern-day Donna Karan New York and the next-generation counterpart, DKNY. Caviar and pizza. Black car and taxi. The skyline and the street. Together, Donna Karan New York and DKNY are the two sides of the city that inspires everything we do.
