From the beginning, the enormous neon lights at the back of the DKNY Fall 2011 show promised us “Something New York,” and that’s exactly what Donna Karan delivered, as she so consistently does. DKNY is always a source of smart, sophisticated separates and dresses with a bit of edge for the younger Donna girl, and the brights-and-neutrals selection of outwear, blazers and smart knits hit all the right notes for the season that’s shaping up thus far.
The combination of pink and orange against camel and black is going to be huge for fall, but my favorite parts of this collection were when it took a slightly citified look at prep school classics, specifically with tartans in the bright-and-neutral combination of orange, grey and black. Perhaps DKNY PR Girl’s famous Gossip Girl tweets have seeped into the design department, but I think it’s far more likely that Donna just knows exactly how to take a timeless piece and put an effortless modern edge on it.
