Star Style: Donna Karan and Gabby Karan De Felice

Donna Karan is a global fashion legend with her eponymous fashion lines, the high-end Donna Karan label and the more affordable DKNY line.  But did you know that, while the brand-name bears her initials, the inspiration behind DKNY was actually Karan's daughter, Gabby?

According to the DKNY web site, "Karan’s quest for the perfect jeans, as well as her desire to dress her daughter Gabby, resulted in the 1989 birth of DKNY." Wikipedia says "DKNY was founded in 1989 in New York by Donna Karan inspired by her daughter, Gabby." 

This mother-daughter duo is incredibly close; they live next door to each other and their businesses (Donna's Urban Zen store and Gabby's restaurant, Tutto Il Giorno) are side-by-side in Sag Harbor, NY.  Gabby interviewed her mother for Hamptons magazine, and Donna explained that she and Gabby "share so much—Sag Harbor, our homes, the garden in between the store and restaurant, our work habits, our friends and, of course, our closets."

The fact that the Karan women share a wardrobe is easily evidenced by photographs of the designer and her doppelganger daughter.  In the photo above, Donna and Gabby were photographed at the 2009 amFAR Gala in New York City wearing similar black dresses.

Here, three generations- Donna, Gabby, and Gabby's daughter, Stephania- were photographed for InStyle magazine wearing similar styles from Donna's Urban Zen Initiative.  Notice how Donna, Gabby and Stephania not only have coordinated dresses, but also matching necklaces and bracelets.

Just as Gabby inspired her mother to launch DKNY, Donna Karan and Gabby Karan De Felice inspire us with their wonderful close relationship and fabulous shared style.