First Look At Donna Karan's Steamy Campaign For Autumn Winter 2013

A preview of Donna Karan’s autumn winter campaign have just reached us ahead of their August launch in the US monthly magazines. The single shot gives us a literal insight into Karan’s vision for next season’s campaign, which took inspiration from an artist’s studio in the city. The campaign was shot by Mikael Jansson, and shows the unbelievably beautiful models Catherine McNeil and Andres Velencoso (on his knees no less) in a steamy embrace on the artist’s worktop, surrounded by tools, stools, notebooks and dust cloths.


The designer has totally changed direction from her previously dreamy beach frolicking campaign for spring summer 2013, as well as the stark graphic shots with Karlie Kloss for the Resort collection. This busy, grittier shots were inspired by her long-time relationship with the art world, in particular through her her late husband, the artist Stephan Weiss’ work.

Karan told WWD, “I never realized the similarity between how we thought, Stephan did my fragrance bottles. He was my partner in business. He was everything. When I put on the show [an exhibition of his work which Donna Karan staged recently], I thought, ‘Oh my God, he did with clay and I do it with fabric’”

Clearly a lover of the art world, Karan reveals on her Tumblr page how the most glamorous art fair we’ve ever been to, Art Basel in Miami inspired her... “Witnessing the artistic brilliance and just the sheer quantity of creativity out there…I love that art can take you there and as a designer it is so important for me to tap into this side of myself. As a creative person, I have absolutely learned that you can offer more and create at the highest level when you feel whole and nourished on a soul level. For me, art is a huge part of this experience.”

Take a look through our gallery below to see how Donna Karan’s campaigns have evolved in recent seasons from romantic and dreamy to graphic and simplistic.