Donna Karan Quits Chief Designer Job at Donna Karan

Donna Karan and Louis Dell’Olio in the Anne Klein workroom located in New York City’s garment district in 1980. Photography Rose Hartman/Getty Images (img via supermodelsofthe70s-80s)

Quoting Donna Karan‘s instagram “Donna Karan’s Next Journey:
After much thoughtful discussion and in partnership with Donna Karan International and LVMH, our visionary founder, Donna Karan, has made a personal decision to step down from her day-to-day responsibilities as Chief Designer for Donna Karan International. She will remain with the company in an advisory role and will dedicate her focus on her Urban Zen Company and foundation, which she founded in 2007″

Okay that’s another fashion era closed. Maybe you know this already but we’re gonna share the Donna Karan mini history anyway: Donna Karan, an American fashion designer, became famous for her non-tailored, sleek, mainly jersey outfits and certainly for her bodysuits. In 1985 she came up with the “Seven Easy Pieces” collection which consisted of an interchangeable set of designs that could be transformed from day to evening wear. Designed with working women/mothers in mind, you could move freely in Donna Karan’s clothes, they were suitable for the office and by adding a piece, an outfit could change into appropriate wear for, let’s say, a dinner date. The bodysuit was the base in this concept: a (jersey) top with attached  knickers, which closed with push buttons at the crotch. The genius of the bodysuit design was that your blouse, turtleneck, or any other variation of a top, always stayed neatly in place, ànd panty-lines would be invisible.

Karan’s first collection, 1985 photo credit WWD

Showing your thong at the office, ok it’s an outside office, but still…..showing

That sounds simple and maybe unnecessary nowadays  (it’s normal to show your thong; in the 1980s/90s the thong was worn strictly by sex-workers and athletes, and in the bedroom of course; showing any underwear was simply not en-vogue back then.)

In the days of the Powersuit it was, dare I say; groundbreaking to eliminate the uncomfortable tailored suit, with it’s humongous shoulder pads, from the office. Next to that: The American Lifestyle of women was finally designed by a woman and became populair worldwide. Again; nowadays that seems easy breezy but remember that this happened before the digital revolution.
If you feel the work of Donna Karan isn’t your cup of tea, which we understand, we hope you do change your mind after reading this piece. Have A Nice Day! xoxo Mimi

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