Aspen Peak - Niche Media - Aspen living at its peak
Issue link: http://digital.greengale.com/i/513510
HigH- Minded FasHion through her urban zen initiative, Fashion icon Donna aran exempliFies the aspen ideal. by amanda rae On a sunny spring afternoon, Donna Karan gazes out toward the pedestrian corridor alongside the Residences at The Little Nell and laments that a fête-filled weekend precluded a gondola ride up Aspen Mountain, where she had learned to ski as a girl. The 66 -year-old fashion designer is looking out from Urban Zen, the seasonal pop-up of her holistic lifestyle boutiques in New York City and Sag Harbor, in the Hamptons, and for a moment she is lost in thought. In an instant, however, Karan—dressed in gray suede pants and a black cashmere cardigan that exemplifies her legendary knack for draping—snaps to attention. A young woman has stepped from the fitting room in a dramatic black shearling coat. "Divine!" Karan exclaims. "Let me see the necklace." The unsuspecting model twirls toward Karan, who pauses a beat—clearly, something is missing. "Why don't we just put a little black top on? The necklace is a must." Lauded as one of the most iconic designers in the world, Karan—for years the lone female keeping pace with industry giants including Calvin Klein and Ralph Lauren—has built a name for herself by finding the void in fashion An Aspen idealist: The mission of Urban Zen, says Donna Karan, is "to bring mind, body, and spirit into healthcare and education." continued on page 40 photography By raNDaLL SLaVIN aspenpeak-magazine.com 39 STYLE Tastemaker