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SWEET SERENADE: Donna Karan New York made a sweet arrival in Paris during fashion week, hosting an intimate dinner at Left Bank spot Sugaar to celebrate Mert Alas’ return as the brand’s creative collaborator and the launch of this season’s ad campaign.
“Donna Karan and I share a history that goes back many years, so this season felt especially personal. Photographing Kendall Jenner was an intimate, beautiful moment and we wanted to mark it somewhere unexpected,” said Alas.
He first shot Kate Moss for Donna Karan in 2008; this time, he photographed Jenner for the fall campaign in a reissue of a 1995 bodysuit and an original belt from that era.
That archive runs deep somewhere in a warehouse in New Jersey, with roughly 40,000 pieces in storage, which are currently being catalogued and mined for contemporary collections – as well as to dress the evening’s guests on this occasion.
Karen Elson wore a silk-and-velvet slip dress from the archive. She said she skipped Milan Fashion Week to send her youngest child off to college and, after Paris, would return home to an empty nest for the first time.
The model added that with all this newfound free time, she’s hoping to learn new skills. “I’m all about the workshops and the classes,” she said, adding that she is exploring courses in everything from creative writing to butter churning.
Guests Adriana Lima, Honey Dijon, Soo Joo Park and Cindy Bruna were also dressed in vintage Donna Karan, appearing in an assortment of slip dresses, column silhouettes and other pieces from the brand’s heyday.
Carla Bruni, meanwhile, opted for a black-cherry velvet suit from the new collection. Bruni has a long history with the house, having walked in its shows during its heyday. “Donna Karan was one of the shows I loved the most,” she said. “It was exactly the style of clothes I could wear in my real life.”
After ascending a winding staircase to the candlelit upper room, Bruni performed an intimate a cappella set in Italian, French and English, choosing songs with what she described as a “mellow and cozy mood” to suit the atmosphere.
“Paris felt magical, with a fun gang of friends, Carla Bruni performing for us, and 71 martinis flowing all night,” added Alas. They group piled on to the velvet banquettes for fun group shots.
For Donna Karan, the Paris dinner was also a marker of the brand’s revamp.
Relaunched three years ago, the label is now preparing to reenter Europe, with European retail partners having seen the latest collection in Milan ahead of Paris.
Judging by the looks on display that night, the brand’s slinky, minimalist vibe is still hitting the right note.
