1948-
Fashion Designer

A Touch of Sexiness.

"My clothes say woman," claimed fashion designer Donna Karan. As chief designer at Anne Klein for ten years, and later head of her own clothing line, Donna Karan defined the cutting edge of women's fashions for nearly three decades. After Anne Klein's death in 1974, Karan continued Klein's mission: to replace the flowered luncheon dresses favored by affluent suburbanites with mix-and-match separates — blouses, skirts, jackets, sweaters, pants — to create casual, elegant outfits. In the 1980s Karan softened the highly tailored male-derivative career clothes that had been the obligatory look for working women. She also added a touch of sexiness that made her a favorite with some of the country's most visible professional women, including Diane Sawyer, Barbara Walters, and Candice Bergen.

Life.

Fashion figured largely in Karan's childhood. She was born on 2 October 1948 in Forest Hill, Queens, in...