Donna Karan

About

Donna Karan ( KARR-ən; born Donna Ivy Faske), also known as DK, is an American fashion designer and the creator of the Donna Karan New York and DKNY clothing labels.

Karan was born to mother Helen “Queenie” Faske (née Rabinowitz) and father Gabriel “Gabby” Faske (born Faskowitz) in the Forest Hills neighborhood of the Borough of Queens, New York City. Her family is Jewish. Karan’s mother had been a model and had also worked in designer Chester Weinberg’s showroom. Her father was a tailor and haberdasher who died when Donna was three years old.
Karan and her older sister Gail were raised by their mother in Woodmere, in the Five Towns region of Nassau County, New York. At high school, Karan passed much of her time in the art department. She graduated from Hewlett High School in 1966, and then went to the Parsons School of Design.

After leaving college, Karan worked for Anne Klein, eventually becoming head of the Anne Klein design-team, where she remained until 1984, when she launched her Donna Karan label.

Karan began her career as an assistant designer with Anne Klein in the late 1960s, where she was promoted to associate designer in 1971…