los angeles donna karan, once the consummate new yorker, opened a west coast flagship for her urban zen brand here last week. the designer left her namesake label and its dkny offshoot last year. now she<u+2019>s considering buying a home in l.a. or possibly malibu as well. <u+201c>now i think dkla sounds great,<u+201d> she says with a grin. ms. karan is doubling down on urban zen, making it an updated remix of her many pursuits and interests, from comfy but luxurious clothing to health and wellness. <u+201c>everything is just bubbling up, now that she can focus all her attention on urban zen,<u+201d> says aliza licht, a former publicist for the now-closed donna karan brand who worked with the designer for 17 years. with the urban zen clothing collection, ms. karan is rebooting some of the familiar mainstays of her career for modern lives. her collections, like her 1980s <u+201c>seven easy pieces,<u+201d> include a tailored jacket that can turn leggings into a chic business suit, a wrap-and-tie dress, a version of the <u+201c>cold shoulder<u+201d> top that hillary clinton wore as first lady. versions of those are now on the racks at urban zen, only now in materials such as silk, jersey, suede and soft shearling that reflect today<u+2019>s sporty-casual 21st century fabrics and styles. those who have followed her efforts for earthquake recovery in haiti can shop for haitian-made accessories and housewares. the store<u+2014>one of five spread from manhasset to aspen<u+2014>also offers essential oils<u+2014>part of her interest in holistic wellness. urban zen, founded in 2007, is known as an apparel and lifestyle label, but ms. karan says she hopes to create a hotel-condominium-dining-conference center focused on wellness. it would cater to older people who want extra services but don<u+2019>t want to move into a retirement community, she says. aging is something ms. karan, who is 68, has on her mind. friends and former colleagues say she has always pursued ideas triggered by her own needs, starting with her own label in the 1980s, which launched with clothes she designed for herself and her friends. <u+201c>when i started dkny, i needed a pair of bluejeans,<u+201d> says ms. karan. <u+201c>i<u+2019>m a very selfish person.<u+201d> <u+201c>it was always about her, the woman,<u+201d> says patti cohen, who worked with ms. karan marketing her brands for more than 30 years. the new los angeles urban zen store sits on a tiny side street off santa monica boulevard in west hollywood. it isn<u+2019>t fashion central<u+2014>either to the tourists on rodeo boulevard or the locals who shop at melrose place or the grove. instead, it reflects ms. karan<u+2019>s strategy to get shoppers away from their mobile phones and the rushed mentality of power shopping. she says she chose the location because it offered what she wants from a bricks-and-mortar store<u+2014>a hospitable experience for her community. <u+201c>it<u+2019>s off the beaten track,<u+201d> she says. <u+201c>i want people to stop by here.<u+201d> it takes some effort to find the merchandise. the store<u+2019>s entrance leads into a leafy courtyard furnished with a vast teak dining table and other seating areas. a large stainless steel kitchen opens onto the courtyard. it currently serves mainly tea and coffee, free of charge, but the plan is to one day have a chef and serve soup, salads and other fare. the furnishings, tableware and art are all for sale, but the price tags aren<u+2019>t obvious. the clothing collection is in two bungalows that open onto the courtyard, one furnished like a living room with a coffee table and couches (also for sale). several customers hang about for more than an hour, trying on clothes, resting, and wandering the store. ms. karan, curled on a couch, speaks to them like a girlfriend: <u+201c>you don<u+2019>t need the scarf because you got that (shawl),<u+201d> she warns a woman who is lingering over several items. current style trends may be blowing in her favor. her urban zen collections are stretchy, comfortable luxury clothing that is flexible enough to wear to yoga class but dressy enough to top off with a jacket and head to the office. that is the definition of today<u+2019>s athleisure, though she shakes her head at the much-used term. she says she launched urban zen in 2007 because lvmh (which purchased the donna karan label in 2001 and sold it last summer) declined to produce the yoga wear she wanted to wear. <u+201c>they didn<u+2019>t do yoga at dkny, which is crazy, i told them,<u+201d> she says. see-now-buy-now has been a hot topic for the past year, with tom ford and burberry launching their fall 2016 collections in september when most brands were launching spring 2017. <u+201c>i<u+2019>ve been doing that for 10 years,<u+201d> says ms. karan. during her new york fashion week presentation in september, some guests stopped at her store next door to try on the collection<u+2019>s cape dresses, jodhpurs, and luxe shearling gilets. ms. karan plans to hold conferences at the los angeles store for programs such as her urban zen integrative therapy program, which incorporates eastern healing techniques and other holistic methods with western medicine at hospitals including ucla medical center. <u+201c>she<u+2019>s made her mark in fashion. now she<u+2019>s about making a difference in the world,<u+201d> says gabby karan, ms. karan<u+2019>s daughter. <u+201c>it<u+2019>s her philosophy of living.<u+201d> write to christina binkley at christina.binkley@wsj.com
donna karan<u+2019>s zen comeback  - wsj
christina binkley