In 1985, Donna Karan left Anne Klein and founded her own company – DKNY – where she remains CEO today. In this capacity, she initially became famous for her line of elastic bodies. Then it was the Essentials line that got everyone talking – the seven items every woman has to have. This became so successful that the line expanded to around 200 must-have items for women. It was when the DKNY collection emerged in 1988 however, that Karan really became famous and the company grew in leaps and bounds. It is today, the “pillar of the Donna Karan business.” During her designing process, Karan seeks to have the regular woman in mind, someone like herself.