NYFW: Donna Karan’s bright outlook in rough times

Donna Karan is more prepared to deal with this economic downturn than most. “I started my company in one of them,” she tells me in her Urban Zen store, which makes a calm, quiet contrast to the busy preparations for the DKNY show happening in her work studio next door. Incense smoke snakes its way through the air, adding to her image as the fashion world’s spiritual queen yogi. But underneath her relaxed, oversized sweater and leotard (she wears one everyday), lies a mogul with a shrewd business sense. She began honing it early on. Her father was a custom tailor, and her mother a showroom model. “I was brought up on 7th Avenue. It’s in my blood. It’s in my character and nature,” she adds.

You’ve weathered several economic downturns. Have you noticed a difference in how this one is affecting your approach to Donna Karan Collection and DKNY?

I wasn’t even aware of it in the process, but you’ll see that the fall Donna Karan is very reflective of the collection that I did in 1985. And that will be very obvious to everyone. Meanwhile, DKNY, which just celebrated its 20th anniversary, will be more about sophistication and moving forward. We’re catering to another generation.

You’ve defined the working woman’s wardrobe for decades. Now, as more women are searching for jobs, have you noticed a difference in what sells among your brands?

Not yet, but I do think women are thinking about working again. There was a period where it was about dressing up, but now we’re returning to day and more work-oriented pieces that go from day to night. The idea of going from day to night is terribly important, for garments to have that flexibility.

For women who are scaling back on their shopping and trying to decide what to invest in, what advice would you give?

There has to be an emotional purpose. And you have to think about what is lacking in your wardrobe. Look for things that flatter the body and make you feel good. The minute I put on one of these pieces [motioning to her sweater], it makes me feel good. It’s not about the garment, it’s about you. But I think that more people should remember the importance of buying in this climate. It’s important because you’re buying to help another human being, to save a job.

You’re famously passionate about yoga. How does it affect you creatively?

I’ve been doing it since I was 18 years old, so it’s something that is innately a part of my character. I think you see the influence in my clothes and the movement. Every morning I get up and I wear my bodysuit [lifting up her sweater.] I move and stretch. The clothes are all about movement and the body and the ease and grace of the body.

Karl Lagerfeld and [Council of Fashion Designers of America president] Steven Kolb said in separate interviews that the good thing about the recession is that it’s making the fashion industry scale back and focus on fashion again. Would you agree with this?

Oh God yes. I think it’s a paring down and I think there’s an awakening. Things have been so fashion driven. Fashion seems to come and then it feels like last year’s fashion. It’s good to get back to an idea of seasonless dressing and allowing the consumer to have clothes with longevity to them, while at the same time giving them a reason to buy. And teaching the customer that if sales continue the way they are, there will be no industry. People won’t have jobs. This is not something as frivolous as the world of fashion. It’s affecting everyone the world over.