Since its relaunch, Donna Karan New York has spent several seasons reestablishing the codes of its founder and the powerful, multidimensional woman she dressed. For spring, the more interesting proposition was what happened when some of that power was allowed to soften.
That idea came into focus through more specific archival references than in seasons past. A late-1990s Donna Karan campaign image provided the starting point for the powdery pink that opened the collection, while the green of Gwyneth Paltrow’s wardrobe in “Great Expectations,” whose costumes Karan worked on, informed another chapter. They were precise points of departure rather than broad brushstrokes of the designer’s world.
A masculine power suit cut in pink tropical wool made the season’s tension clear. Elsewhere, a double-layer fine-gauge sweater skimmed a long crinkled nylon skirt, directly reworking the late-’90s look, while wide trousers, dropped waists and fluid layers elongated the silhouette. Bias-cut dresses and asymmetrical hems added movement. There was romance here, but it didn’t overwhelm the clothes; rather, the harder edges of the Donna Karan power woman had been sanded down.
The palette moved from pink into washed taupes and a rich saddle and copper story, where tonal dressing gained dimension through texture. Goat suede cohabited with fine knits, while linen-and-cotton tape yarn was foiled in copper. Creams and whites offered a cleansing interlude before basil and pistachio greens and, inevitably, the house’s foundational black and gold.
Some of the more interesting developments were almost invisible. Taffeta woven with metal gave the material “memory,” allowing the sculptural collar and skirt of a trench to be manipulated and retain their shapes. Stretch was engineered into jacket linings, while other outerwear received water repellent coatings without announcing itself as performance wear.
It is that marriage of polish and practicality that is helping to define the G-III-owned brand’s place in the market. With the collection still topping out below $1,000, these are smart clothes designed for women who need them to function without relinquishing the pleasure of getting dressed. Several seasons in, customers are voting accordingly: dresses have performed strongly since the relaunch and were given greater presence for spring, while jackets and lightweight fine-gauge knits have emerged as other key categories. A mixed-metal sweater has become one of the brand’s bestsellers — evidence that practicality needn’t preclude a little flash.
The pull of the archive is becoming more literal, too. This spring Donna Karan will introduce Icons, a group of archival dresses reissued in response to demand for vintage styles from customers and celebrities. Original patterns, bias constructions, specialty jerseys and sculptural hardware are being revisited and adapted for today, also below the $1,000 threshold.
There was a compelling push and pull between past and present: archival memories became increasingly specific while fabric development looked forward. More importantly, spring gave the Donna Karan woman something she didn’t need more of — armor — and replaced it with a lighter kind of authority and ease.