Donna Karan at her DKNY show at Fashion Week. Image by Getty Images

Donna Karan at her DKNY show at Fashion Week. Image by Getty Images

Karan, who grew up in a Jewish family in Queens, founded her company in 1984 with the mission of making modern clothes for women who want both comfort and beauty. Her line is based on the idea that modern dressing should be easy; women should own seven items that can be mixed and matched to create outfits suitable for transitioning from work to play to relaxing. In this spirit, her first item (and still perhaps her most famous) was a one-piece bodysuit that could be worn equally well with a fancy skirt or frayed jeans. The look is at once both simple, easy and sexy. “That I’m a woman makes me want to nurture others, fulfill needs and solve problems,” she writes on her web site. “At the same time, the artist within me strives for beauty, both sensually and visually. So design is a constant challenge to balance comfort with luxe, the practical with the desirable.”

At her DKNY (Karan’s more casual line) show this past Sunday, models wore two-colored bodysuits, swim suits, simple bra tops, long, yellow dresses with black, mesh backs and leather pencil skirts with button down blouses. In a post-show interview Karan said, “When I can wear the same thing as the girls on the runway, I’ve done my job.”

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