Just in time for the holidays, Donna Karan and Urban Zen will kick off a six-week holiday marketplace at Stephan Weiss Studios in the West Village to benefit education and the preservation of artisan cultures. The shop will be stocked with unique artisanal holiday gifts (ranging from $75 to $15,000) from around the globe, all of which were hand-selected by Karan herself. The collections from Haiti, Bali, Thailand, Mali, Tibet, India, Colombia and the U.S. include home items, textiles, jewelry, fashion accessories, art, furniture and antiques. We spoke with the designer before her marketplace’s official kickoff on November 21 to get her take on our quickfire questions.
- A key to starting my day on a positive note is… practicing yoga.
- When it comes to maintaining a healthy lifestyle… I look to juice and soups.
- The most inspiring places I have ever traveled to were… Bali and Haiti.
- My most treasured piece of clothing is… a cashmere scarf.
- The best gift I ever received was… my grandchildren.
- When I’m looking to get inspired I… travel.
- When I’m stressed I… turn to dark chocolate and ice cream.
- What keeps me excited about working in fashion is… my need to get dressed.
- If my days had one extra hour I’d… stay in bed.
- My beauty essentials include… concealer and a black eye pencil.
- What I love most about yoga is… Savasana.
- If you looked at my desk you’d find… a mess.
- I’d never travel without… my five senses awake and alert.
- My biggest fashion pet peeve is… the timing of the fashion shows. You see clothes months before you can buy them.
- When it comes to balancing work with family… in my heart, family comes first, in reality, work does.
- I’m excited about the upcoming holiday season because… it’s a time for giving back, which is why the Urban Zen Holiday Marketplace is so important to me.
- Every woman should own… a gorgeous scarf. There will be beautiful artisanal scarves sold at the Urban Zen Holiday Marketplace…they really do make the perfect gifts.
- Every man should own… a leather jacket.
- My biggest style regret is… I can’t fit into the models’ clothes.
- On a typical Saturday… what I’m doing depends on where I am.
- The one career highlight I’ll never forget… was when my mentor Anne Klein died, me having a baby and having to put out a collection.
