My Journey

by Donna Karan

  Visiting St. Damien Pediatric Hospital in Port au Prince

  With Sebastian in Haiti

  “The Glossy Posse of Haiti,” from right: Shelly Clay, Caroline Sada, me, Pascal Theard, Marni Lewis, Isabel Encinias, and Paula Coles

  With Haitian artist Philippe Dodard

  With my close friend, photographer Russell James

  Ad campaigns shot in Haiti by Russell James

  With Kevin Salyers of Urban Zen

  A sweet girl at Caroline Sada’s school in Cité Soleil

  With filmmaker and humanitarian, Bryn Mooser

  My dear friends Sandra Brant and Ingrid Sischy

  Zainab Salbi, founder of the philanthropic organization Women for Women

  Lisa Evans and me wearing our Not One More bracelets

  With Uma Thurman at the Stephan Weiss Apple Awards

  Anna Wintour at the Apple Awards

  With Deb and Hugh Jackman

  President Clinton accepting the Stephan Weiss Apple Award

  Patti Hansen and Keith Richards

  Stephan’s Apple sculpture in Hudson River Park

  To those no longer with us who made me who I am:

  my parents, Anne Klein, and, most of all,

  my love, Stephan

  And to my family and friends,

  who every day create my past, present, and future

  ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

  Writing My Journey was a joyful, sad, exhausting, surprising, wonderful, spiritual, and therapeutic experience. It took a world of people and memories to pull it together, and I couldn’t be more grateful to those who made it possible.

  First, I must thank my co-author and friend Kathleen Boyes, who has been my voice for more than thirty years. Without her brilliance, memory, compassion, diligence, and devotion, this book would not exist. No one else could have done it. And thanks to our talented editor, Jennifer Tung, who patiently kept us on track while pressing for details that enriched the story immensely.

  To my soul sister, Barbra Streisand, for her generous words, her great love, and the many lessons we learned together over the years. Barbra connects the dots for me, personally, creatively, and professionally. We’re two of a kind.

  To President Bill Clinton and Hillary Clinton, who by their example, inspire me to utilize my gift of creating and caring each and every day. And to Anna Wintour, who has made so many dreams come true, from fashion to philanthropy. She inspires me enormously.

  To my partner in crime, Patti Cohen, the redheaded Donna Karan in the fashion world, who speaks for me while advising and guiding me with love, loyalty, and humor. I could not have done any of it without her by my side. She will always be my best friend, and we will always be there for each other.

  To Jane Chung, my student who became my teacher and dear friend. Jane inspires me day after day with her extraordinary gift of creativity. In every way, she’s the yin to my yang.

  Behind every great woman is a greater man, and I’ve had the greatest creative partners of all, each helping me achieve things I had never dreamed were possible: Louis Dell’Olio, Robert Lee Morris, Peter Speliopoulos, Peter Arnell, Trey Laird, Hans Dorsinville, Dominic Kozerski, and Kevin Salyers.

  To the many designers and creative hands who have been by my side, inspiring me forward: Cristina Azario, Nelly Bidon, Georgina Bartlett, Istvan Francer, Xiomara Grossett, Chris Hodge, Huguette Hubbard, Jackie Marshall, Rozann Marsi, Kyoko Nagamori, Narciso Rodriguez, Ingrid Solomonson, Tommy Tong, and Edward Wilkerson.

  To Tomio Taki, Frank Mori, and Julie Stern, the extraordinary men who started me on this journey at Anne Klein and knew when to fire me. There wouldn’t be a Donna Karan New York if not for their vision and support.

  To the many executives responsible for our amazing success: Linda Beauchamp, David Bressman, Sonja Caproni, Carole Kerner, Cathy Volker, Steve Ruzow, Denise Seegal, Jane Terker, and Mary Wang.

  To LVMH and Bernard Arnault, who had the vision to see the power of what we created.

  To my Urban Zen family, who create, collaborate, communicate, and inspire change: Bessie Afnaim and Oliver Corral, Gillian Cilibrasi, Rachel Goldstein, Don Hutchinson, and Yonghee Joe.

  To my chief of staff and Haiti cohort, Marni Lewis, who helps me find the calm in the chaos of Urban Zen, and to my yoga teachers and great friends Rodney Yee and Colleen Saidman Yee, who taught me that yoga is a way of life and have made my dreams of a UZIT program a powerful and profound reality.

  To the many people at Random House who brought their expertise and enthusiasm to this project: Alina Cho, Gina Centrello, Libby McGuire, Richard Callison, Susan Corcoran, Deborah Aroff, Nina Shield, Robbin Schiff, Liz Cosgrove, Benjamin Dreyer, and Shona McCarthy.

  To the Laird + Partners amazing team who created, cleared, and organized the many layouts throughout this book, starting with the talented (and very patient) art director Louis Liu, Ray DiPietro, Jessica Feldman Miranda, Kondwani Banda, and John Rizzo. Thanks to Myles Ashby and Kelli Souder Hill for their help in clearing countless images used in this book. A special thank-you to Glen Hoffman, my first nephew, who visually connected the dots as we went through my dozens of photo albums.

  To the photographers who allowed us to reprint their work in these pages: Peter Arnell, Luca Babini, Antoine Bootz, Patrick Demarchelier, Pablo Fisk, Bob Frame, Adam Franzino, Douglas Friedman, Hans Gissinger, Marc Hispard, John Huba, Inez and Vinoodh, Russell James, Mikael Jansson, Krisanne Johnson, Neil Kirk, Steven Klein, Lynn Kohlman, Brigitte Lacombe, Annie Leibovitz, Peter Lindbergh, Spike Mafford, Patrick McMullan, Christine Morden, Denis Piel, Kenneth Probst, Bob Richardson, Durston Saylor, Lothar Schmid, Steven Sebring, Gerardo Somoza, Hugh Stewart, Sølve Sundsbø, Martyn Thompson, and Bonnie Young. And thank you to every other photographer who has helped me document my life’s journey.

  To many who gave their love, thoughts, and reflections: Beverly Adwar, Maurice Antaya, Enrico Bonetti, Jacki Bouza, Ro Cappola, Ann Culkin, Jean-Pierre Dupre, Francine LeFrak, Dawn Mello, Sheila Parham, Jill Pettijohn, Andrea Pfister, Pam Serure, and Beth Wohlgelernter.

  To Harvey Cohen and Hal Neier, the husbands of Patti and Kathleen, who supported them while they shared this journey with me.

  To my many dear friends who travel by my side, loving, learning, and laughing along the way: Richard Baskin, Ross Bleckner, Sandy Gallin, Linda and Steve Horn, Russell James, Calvin Klein, Demi Moore, Sonja Nuttall, BS and Christina Ong, Ingrid Sischy and Sandy Brant, and Bonnie Young and Luca Babini.

  To Patti Cappalli, my dear friend and mentor, who took a chance on a neurotic young girl and showed me the world of fashion from Broadway to Paris.

  To my Kabbalah teacher Ruth Rosenberg, who has stood by my side through my many doubts, guiding and showing me the light filled with love—a true rarity and a lesson all of us must learn.

  To Ruth Pontvianne, Susie Lish, and Evelyn Dalisay for creating a home and for being the mothers I never had. And to my driver, Marco Seck, who protects me first thing in the morning to last thing at night.

  To Ilene Wetson, my Five Towns bestie, for introducing me to Stephan, the love of my life.

  To Mark Karan, my first love and great friend, who gave me two treasures that will always be a part of me, my daughter and my name.

  To Gail—my sister, my memories, my mother who has been protecting me since the day I was born.

  And to her husband, Hank Hoffman, and their family: Glen and Barbara, Annabel and Jackson; Darin and Dawn, Alexander, Griffin, and Olivia.

  To my beloved family: Corey and Suzanne Weiss, Etan, and Maya Rose; Lisa Weiss, Mackensie, Miles, and Mercer. Thank you for making me a proud grandma at such a young age.

  To Gabby, my identical twin and best friend, who despite my Jewish guilt, tells me every day I’m the best mother in the world.

  And to her husband, Gianpaolo de Felice, who with Gabby gave me Stefania and Sebastian, my youngest teachers of all, who are completely unimpressed with the Donna Karan name. They keep me grounded and pure and have taught
me the meaning of unconditional love.

  To Stephan, who has shown me that love lives on forever.

  ILLUSTRATIONS CREDITS

  Author’s collection (fm.1, fm.2, itr.1, 1.1, 1.2, 2.1, 2.2, 3.1, 4.1, 5.1, 5.2, 6.1, 7.1, 8.1, 9.1, 9.2, 10.1, 12.1, 15.1, 16.1, 18.1, 19.1, 20.1, 21.1, 22.1, 23.1), The Business of New York Manhattan, Inc. from October 1989 “The New Queen of New York” article (10.2), Bob Frame (13.1), Steven Klein/Art Partner Licensing (17.1), Annie Leibovitz (17.2), Peter Lindbergh (14.1, 16.2), Christine Morden (tp.1), Denis Piel (11.1: © Denis Piel 2015, “Excerpts from Denis Piel’s Film ‘Donna Karan, New York’ 1986,” 13.2: © Denis Piel 2015, “Rosemary’s Flight, Donna Karan, 1987”), Kenneth Probst (6.2), Bob Richardson (7.2), Steven Sebring (24.1), Hugh Stewart (20.2), Sølve Sundsbø/Art + Commerce (25.1)

  Insert:

  Queenie and Gabby (author’s collection), Donna as a baby (author’s collection), Donna and her sister as children (author’s collection), Gabby and his girls as children (author’s collection), Queenie in polka dots with young Donna (author’s collection), Queenie and Donna before camp (author’s collection), young Queenie by her car (author’s collection), Donna’s school photo (author’s collection), Queenie and Harold dancing (author’s collection), Donna and Gail at Gail’s wedding (author’s collection), Donna’s prom dress (author’s collection), Donna’s early modeling (author’s collection), Donna in high school (author’s collection), Gabby’s hanger (author’s collection), Anne Klein model in silver top and striped skirt (courtesy of Lothar Schmid), young adult Donna designing (courtesy of Kenneth Probst), in the AK design room with Louis Dell’Olio (Rose Hartman/Getty Images), Donna and Louis black-and-white (author’s collection), Donna in a fur coat (author’s collection), Donna and baby Gabby (author’s collection), Donna with Mark and Gabby at the beach (author’s collection), Donna and Gabby doing yoga (author’s collection), Donna and Gabby in AK design room (author’s collection), Donna and friends at Fire Island (author’s collection), Donna with a cigarette (author’s collection), Donna and Stephan at their wedding (author’s collection), Gabby with Corey and Lisa at Donna’s wedding (author’s collection), Stephan’s proposal telegram (author’s collection), Donna and friend kissing Stephan (author’s collection), Donna with her uncle Burt Wayne (author’s collection), The New York Times Magazine “How a Fashion Star is Born” cover (author’s collection), Donna swearing in (© Peter Lindbergh), black-and-white of models in bodysuits (author’s collection), Donna fitting a dress (courtesy of Peter Arnell), “The Cold Shoulder” article (from The New York Times, 2/7/1993 © The New York Times. All rights reserved. Used by permission and protected by the Copyright Laws of the United States. The printing, copying, redistribution, or retransmission of this Content without express written permission is prohibited.), all four Seven Easy Pieces modeling shots (courtesy of Mark Hispard), DKNY design team (author’s collection), New York City DKNY ad (© Peter Lindbergh), Donna sitting while wearing an orange coat and jeans (© Bridgitte Lacombe), DKNY model “family” (courtesy of Peter Arnell), Donna with Jane Chung (author’s collection), taxicabs (© Peter Lindbergh), model in pink dress with surfboard (© Peter Lindbergh), model in black celebrating in the rain (© Peter Lindbergh), male model with newspaper (© Peter Lindbergh), guy and girl kissing in first perfume ad (courtesy of Mikael Jansson), City of Jeans billboard ad (courtesy of Gerardo Somoza), Donna and Stephan black-and-white (courtesy of Lynn Kohlman), Donna and Stephan on balcony with DKNY billboard in background (author’s collection), Donna and Stephan in studio (David Turner © Condé Nast), Donna and Stephan hiking (author’s collection), Donna and Barbra Streisand with their husbands (author’s collection), Donna’s friend Susie Lish (author’s collection), Stephan on his Ducati (author’s collection), Stephan and Barbra Streisand (author’s collection), Stephan with long hair (author’s collection), Donna and Gabby in white dresses (courtesy of Hugh Stewart), Donna and friend on boat (author’s collection), Donna and family at Parrot Cay (author’s collection), CFDA uniting after 9/11 (Walter Weissman/Star Max/Newscom), Donna with Anna Wintour and Carolyne Roehm (Ron Galella/Getty Images), Donna at Kids for Kids with Hillary Clinton and others (author’s collection), Donna with Gabby and Stefania at Super Saturday (author’s collection) black-and-white of Donna and friend at Kids for Kids (author’s collection), Donna at Kids for Kids with Johnny Depp and others (author’s collection), Kathleen Boyes with Patti Cohen and Marni Lewis (photograph by PatrickMcMullan.com), Donna with Peter Speliopoulos and Nicoletta Santoro (photograph by PatrickMcMullan.com), Bonnie Young and Gabby (author’s collection), Donna with Denise Seegal and three others (photograph by PatrickMcMullan.com), Tommy Tong with Julie Stern and two others (photograph by PatrickMcMullan.com), Patti Cohen and ten others (photograph by PatrickMcMullan.com), Bessie Afnaim and Oliver Corral (author’s collection), Lynn Kohlman with Rodney Yee and Colleen Saidman Yee (author’s collection), Donna with Marisa Berenson (Dimitrios Kambouris/FFR/Getty Images), Donna with Christy Turlington Burns (courtesy of Neil Kirk), Donna with Trudie Styler and Sting (Evan Agostini/Getty Images), Barbra wearing Donna Karan (courtesy of Russell James), Donna and Ralph Lauren (Peter Kramer/Getty Images), Donna and Russell Simmons (© Michael Filonow/Corbis Outline), Donna and Giorgio Armani (author’s collection), Donna with Deepak Chopra and Arianna Huffington (author’s collection), Donna with Bernadette Peters (Evan Agostini/Getty Images), Donna with Oprah and Mary J. Blige (E. Charbonneau/Getty Images), Donna with Natasha Richardson and Gabby (Larry Busacca/Getty Images), Donna with Susan Sarandon (Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images), Donna and Angelica Huston (Gregory Pace/Getty Images), Donna and Demi Moore (Evan Agostini/Getty Images), Donna and Richard Baskin (author’s collection), Donna and Patti Cohen (author’s collection), Donna and Leonard Lauder (Associated Press), Donna and Sandy Gallin (author’s collection), Donna with Michelle Obama and Gabby (author’s collection), Donna and Calvin Klein (author’s collection), Donna and Robert Lee Morris (Evan Agostini/Getty Images), Donna and Hans Dorsinville (author’s collection), Donna and Trey Laird (author’s collection), Peter Arnell and Patti Cohen (photograph by PatrickMcMullan.com), Donna on cover of New York magazine (author’s collection), Donna shaking hands with four others (author’s collection), Donna yelling with hands on head (Inez Van Lamsweerde and Vinoodh Matadin), “LMVH: A Deal for Donna” article (author’s collection), “The Flag Flies High for Wall St. Donna” article (author’s collection), Donna and friend near Statue of Liberty (author’s collection), Gabrielle Roth with Christina Ong and two others (author’s collection), Donna and the Dalai Lama (courtesy of Luca Babini), Ruth Rosenberg (author’s collection), Karen Berg (author’s collection), Donna on a rock (author’s collection), Donna and friends in Israel (author’s collection), Donna and Sonja Nuttall (author’s collection), vow renewals at Parrot Cay (author’s collection), family portrait from Gabby’s wedding (author’s collection), Gabby’s bridal party (author’s collection), Donna and Gabby at Gabby’s wedding (author’s collection), Donna with Gail and family (author’s collection), Donna and Gail (author’s collection), black-and-white image on ski slopes (author’s collection), Donna in sunglasses at Sun Valley (author’s collection), black-and-white family photo (author’s collection), Donna and her adult children on Stephan’s Larger than Life Apple sculpture (author’s collection), Gabby and Mark Karan (author’s collection), Donna and her grandson doing yoga (Previously published in Harper’s Bazaar magazine, November 2001 issue. Photographer: Patrick Demarchelier.), Stefania at Parrot Cay (author’s collection), family photo with Stephan’s Dressage Horse (author’s collection), Donna with Gabby, her husband and their child (Courtesy of the Artist © Annie Leibovitz), Donna and Stefania on runway (author’s collection), Stefania riding a horse (author’s collection), Sebastian and his dad (author’s collection), Donna and Sebastian on an airplane (author’s collection), Francis Bacon painting (author’s collection), Donna in a red dress with two upside-down men (courtesy of Douglas Friedman), Donna in a draped
white robe while sitting on a wooden lounge (courtesy of Hugh Stewart), inside 819 Madison Avenue store (courtesy of Antoine Bootz), Donna and Dominic Kozerski (Jesse Chehak/Getty Images), Donna in her all-black closet (© John Huba/Art + Commerce), inside Donna’s Parrot Cay bedroom (author’s collection), Donna and Gabby in Parrot Cay (Saylor H. Durston/Originally published in Architectural Digest), the view from Donna’s Parrot Cay bedroom (Saylor H. Durston/Originally published in Architectural Digest), Urban Warrior campaign ad in Morocco (courtesy of Mikael Jansson), Jeremy Irons and Milla Jovovich (courtesy of Mikael Jansson), dress with a Bill Morris glass buckle (© Peter Lindbergh), Demi Moore (© Peter Lindbergh), Black Cashmere fragrance ad (courtesy of Mikael Jansson), Demi Moore from the back (© Peter Lindbergh), Cate Blanchette from the back (courtesy of Mikael Jansson), Cate Blanchette (courtesy of Mikael Jansson), Signature perfume bottle (courtesy of Hans Gissinger), Donna with Dr. David Feinberg and three others (author’s collection), Rodney and Collen Yee at Urban Zen (author’s collection), the launch of Urban Zen (author’s collection), Ruth Pontivanne giving a massage (author’s collection), Donna at ribbon-cutting ceremony (author’s collection), Urban Zen model with black bracelets (courtesy of Pablo Fisk), Urban Zen model with brown necklace (courtest of Pablo Fisk), blue sofa (courtesy of Martyn Thompson), Urban Zen model wearing suede jacket (courtesy of Adam Franzino), vases and candles (author’s collection), three runway models in red dresses (courtesy of Gerardo Somoza), children wearing red robes (author’s collection), Donna and a cow (author’s collection), Donna and a man in India (author’s collection), Donna and John James “JJ” Biasucci (author’s collection), Donna with Gabby and BS Ong in Nepal (author’s collection), Donna and her team arriving in Haiti (author’s collection), Donna and an artist in Haiti (author’s collection), Donna and a child in a Haitian hospital (author’s collection), Donna and Sebastian in Haiti (author’s collection), Donna with Marni Lewis and five others in Haiti (author’s collection), Donna and Philippe Dodard (author’s collection), Donna and Russell James (author’s collection), ad campaign with model in leather and male model cutting more (courtesy of Russell James), ad campaign with a model in a black top and black-and-white skirt (courtesy of Russell James), Donna and Kevin Salyers (author’s collection), a little girl Donna met in Haiti (author’s collection), Donna and Bryn Mooser (author’s collection), Sandra Brant and Ingrid Sischy (Mike Coppola/Getty Images), Zainab Salbi (author’s collection), Donna and Lisa Evans (courtesy of Russell James), Donna and Uma Thurman (Stephen Lovekin/Getty Images), Anna Wintour (courtesy of Krisanne Johnson), Donna with Deb and Hugh Jackman (photograph by PatrickMcMullan.com), President Bill Clinton (courtesy of Krisanne Johnson), Patti Hansen and Keith Richards (courtesy of Krisanne Johnson), Stephan’s Apple sculpture (courtesy of Spike Mafford), Donna pulling a face at the camera (author’s collection)