Fashion designer who attended the Parsons School of Design, then went to work for Anne Klein at the age of 20. In 1985, she started her own brand with her husband, Stephan Weiss. According to the New York Times, Karan “became a force in American fashion by training her sights on the real-life wardrobe requirements of urban career women”.
Fragrances were introduced in 1992 with Donna Karan New York, followed by DK Men (1994, later renamed Fuel for Men), Cashmere Mist (1994, although it started as a scent for body products), Chaos (1996). These initial fragrances were produced in-house, and lost considerable money for the brand.
Since 1997, fragrances have been produced under licensing arrangements with Estee Lauder. There are now two main lines: Donna Karan Beauty (associated with the main Donna Karan fashion line) and DKNY (associated with the DKNY bridge line).
Donna Karan Beauty
Fragrances include Black Cashmere (2002), Pure Cashmere (2004), Donna Karan Essence (2005).
Recent fragrances under the Donna Karan Beauty name include Donna Karan Gold (2006), Cashmere Mist Luxe Edition (2009), Cashmere Mist Liquid Nude (2010).
Donna Karan Collection
In 2008, Donna Karan relaunched a collection of “iconic” and discontinued fragrances: Donna Karan, Chaos, Fuel for Men, Black Cashmere and the Donna Karan Essence Collection. These scents are available at Bergdorf Goodman and Neiman Marcus in the US, at John Lewis or Harrods in the UK, or online.
Recent additions to the Donna Karan Collection include Iris (2010).
Fragrances from DKNY
Fragrances include DKNY Women (1999), DKNY Men (2000), DKNY Energy Women & Men (2002), Be Delicious (2004), Be Delicious Men (2005) and Red Delicious (2006).
Recent launches include DKNY Summer (2006), DKNY Summer 2007 (2007), Be Delicious Picnic in the Park (2007), DKNY To Go (2007), DKNY Delicious Night (2007), DKNY Summer 2008 (2008), Charmingly Delicious (2008), DKNY Men (2009, replaces 2000 version), DKNY Be Delicious Fresh Blossom, DKNY Women Summer 2009 (2009), DKNY Love From New York (2009), Delicious Candy Apple Sweet Caramel, Ripe Raspberry and Juicy Berry (2010), Pure DKNY (2010), DKNY Woman Summer 2010 (2010), Be Delicious Juiced and Be Delicious Fresh Blossom Juiced (2010), DKNY Women Energizing (2011), DKNY Woman Summer 2011 (2011), DKNY Men Summer 2011 (2011), Pure DKNY Verbena (2011), Golden Delicious (2011), Delicious Candy Apples Sweet Strawberry & Fresh Orange (2011), Sweet Delicious Collection (2012).
Where to buy
The Donna Karan and DKNY fragrances can be found at department stores or online fragrance discounters.
Website
Further reading
See all articles on Now Smell This tagged Donna Karan.
