Donna Karan

Donna Karan is an American fashion designer who was known for her garments' simplicity and comfort. She was born on October 2, 1948, in Forest Hills, New York. Her father was a tailor, while her mother worked in the garment sector of New York City as a model and a showroom sales agent. She got her start in the fashion industry when she was 14 years old and lied about her age to get a job selling garments in a store. On the suggestion of her mother's job, designer Chester Weinberg, she was accepted into New York's Parsons School of Design as an uninterested high school student. She began working for sportswear designer Anne Klein after dropping out of school in 1968, and it was during this time that she married boutique owner Mark Karan then the couple separated in 1978.

After Klein died of cancer, Karan was promoted to chief designer and given charge of the Anne Klein autumn collection for that year. Louis Dell'Olio, a former classmate of Karan's, joined the firm as a designer in 1975. In 1977 and 1981, they received the Coty American Fashion Critics Award and were later admitted into the organization's Hall of Fame. The Anne Klein Co. thrived, thanks in part to Karan's promotion of a "bridge" brand, Anne Klein II, a less-expensive designer collection that launched in 1983.

The Council of Fashion Designers of America honored Karan with a lifetime achievement award in 2004. In 2015, she published her memoir, My Journey.

Nationality: American
Born: October 2, 1948
Career: Fashion designer and the creator of the Donna Karan New York