She was born Donna Ivy Faske in Forest Hills, Queens. She grew up in Woodmere, Long Island with her stepfather, a tailor, and her mother, a model. Karan started selling clothing on Cedarhurst, New York's Central Avenue at age 14. She graduated from Hewlett High School in 1966 and then went on to Parsons The New School for Design for two years. She left to work for Anne Klein. Eventually she became head of the Anne Klein design-team and remained in this position until 1989. At that time, she launched the Essentials line, and her legendary "Seven Easy Pieces." She married Mark Karan in the early 1970s.

The European DKNY business was damaged in the early 1990s by poor quality and flawed logistics which resulted in the creation of a European supply center in Amsterdam, Netherlands. The company later announced to show their collection at the Milan fashion week in 1996 but later backed out again.

Karan is the founder of many charities including, most recently, the Urban Zen initiative. On March 14 and 15 2008, Karan organized a huge sale of her personal belongings and vintage company samples at her late husband's studio to benefit the cause. In October 2008, a foundation run by Karan donated $850,000 to New York's Beth Israel Medical Center. The grant will be used for testing whether yoga, meditation and aromatherapy can enhance the traditional cancer treatments of chemotherapy and radiation. She lives in Lawrence, Nassau County, New York. She studies Kabbalah and is listed among the top Jewish Fashion Icons.

Mark Weber serves as Chief Executive Officer of LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton Inc. (U.S.), the North American arm of the world’s leading luxury goods group, and as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Donna Karan International, positions he has held since October 2006. He also has global operational responsibility for LVMH’s Thomas Pink division. Mr. Weber is a member of the LVMH Group executive committee.

Prior to his current positions, Mr. Weber was the Chief Executive Officer of Phillips-Van Heusen Corporation, the publicly traded company, where he had been for 33 years. As CEO of one of the world’s largest apparel companies, he oversaw all operating divisions of the company and directed the in-house advertising division for all PVH brands, during an exciting period of major growth and expansion in the company’s history. Mr. Weber was instrumental in the 2003 acquisition and subsequent success of Calvin Klein, as well as the integration and development of IZOD, following its inquisition in 1995.

Mr. Weber is also an author, having drawn upon his design background and extensive knowledge of the menswear field to produce the 1997 McGraw-Hill book “Dress Casually for Success….for Men.”