Donna Karan Logo

The Donna Karan logo shown here is a two-line wordmark: “Donna Karan” appears in large lettering, with “New York” centered beneath it in smaller type. Its flared, high-contrast serif forms make the name the dominant element; the city line supplies a secondary identifier. The mark is typographic, without a separate emblem.

Donna Karan Logo PNG

Donna Karan and DKNY: two different marks

Donna Karan left Anne Klein in 1984 and founded Donna Karan International with her husband, Stephan Weiss, and Japanese company Takihyo. The first Donna Karan New York collection followed in Fall 1985. The Fashion Institute of Technology’s fashion museum describes its “Seven Easy Pieces” as a mix-and-match wardrobe concept. FIT Fashion Museum

DKNY stands for Donna Karan New York, but it is the name of a later diffusion line, not the 1984 founding company. Sources differ on whether DKNY launched in 1988 or 1989: Vogue gives 1988, while Peter Arnell’s account and TheIndustry.fashion give 1989.

Peter Arnell’s account credits him and the Arnell Group with creating DKNY’s identity in collaboration with Karan. He describes drawing on New York imagery, including its skyline and city fixtures, and introducing the acronym with a skywriter. Arnell’s account of the project

The two identities take different approaches to the name: Donna Karan New York spells it out in a stacked wordmark, while DKNY condenses it into four letters. The supplied Donna Karan mark’s letterforms can be described visually, but the research does not establish a typeface, designer or introduction date for that wordmark.

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This image shows the same two-line Donna Karan New York arrangement: a prominent full name above a smaller, widely spaced “New York.” The contrast between the large upper line and the quieter lower line keeps the designer’s name foremost while retaining the city in the lockup.

In September 2015, DKNY introduced a redesigned wordmark in Franklin Gothic and removed the “Donna Karan New York” subtitle. Creative Bloq described the flanking blocks as a road-marking motif and reported that the direction was aimed at women rather than girls. The redesign was associated with DKNY creative directors Maxwell Osborne and Dao-Yi Chow of Public School. Creative Bloq

Karan stepped down as chief designer in June 2015, and the main Donna Karan collection ended after Resort 2016. G-III Apparel Group announced its $650 million purchase of Donna Karan International from LVMH in July 2016; the acquisition was completed that December. BBC News reported on the sale, and G-III’s announcement identifies the transaction and its terms.