Donna Karan has announced that she is stepping down from her position at her company, Donna Karan.
She is retiring from her role as chief designer at the New York based label, to focus on her wellness company Urban Zen. Although she will remain a close advisor for the Donna Karan brand which she founded back in 1984 with her late husband Stephen Weiss.
Donna Karan said to WWD about her departure: "Donna Karan is a part of me, past, present and future. It has been an honor to speak woman to woman about ‘Seven Easy Pieces’ that forever changed the way women dress. I want to express my gratitude and my deepest feelings to the dozens and dozens of colleagues over the years who have helped take Donna Karan New York far beyond my wildest dreams.”
We don't need to tell you that Donna is one of the most significant American designers of all time. During her 31 year career she has been awarded 7 CFDA Awards, and earnt an estimated $450 million fortune. She changed the way modern women dress - not to mention DKNY made the Cara Delevingne onesie a thing.
Grazia's fashion director Susannah Frankel said of the news: "Donna Karan's capsule wardrobe was the single most liberating idea for women in the 1980s and is probably among the most copied concepts in fashion history. Throughout her career she has always put the woman who wears her clothes - and how she might feel wearing them - before anything else. And those women love her for it."
DKNY posted the full statement on Instagram, which is headed 'Donna Karan's Next Journey.'
The statement reads: "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.
Over the past three decades, Donna Karan has inspired women around the world to embrace their power and sensuality. When she started her collection in 1985 she set out to simply make clothes for her and her friends. A little collection of simple black pieces that was all about need and desire. She quickly found out that she wasn't alone- she had a lot of friends out there. Her philosophy of a sophisticated system of dressing, "her seven easy pieces" revolutionized the working woman's wardrobe.
Donna Karan is an icon, visionary designer and a passionate philanthropist. She believes in dressing and addressing women. Her impact on American Fashion has been extraordinary and she will continue to influence and inspire for years to come.
We honor Donna today and always. We look forward to celebrating her past, present and future in her memoir, which is due out in October 2015."