Donna Karan will step down from daily duties as chief designer at her namesake company, Donna Karan International, to devote more time to her philanthropic foundation.
She’ll remain a close adviser, according to a company statement released Tuesday.
Karan, 66, co-founded the company in 1984. It went public in 1996. And in 2001, LVMH Moet Hennessey Louis Vuitton invested and helped grow it globally. It now sells apparel, sportswear, accessories and shoes under the Donna Karan New York and DKNY brands.
The company said it will not immediately seek to replace Karan as designer, suspending runway shows and collections for a “period of time.”
Karan, known for helping women streamline their look through basic pieces, expressed gratitude and “my deepest feelings” to colleagues.
“Donna Karan New York is a part of me, past, present and future,” she said in the statement. “It has been an honour to speak woman to woman about seven easy pieces that forever changed the way women dress.”