From runway to bedroom, Donna's comfy at Home

By Carole Sloan -- Home Textiles Today, 9/22/2003 12:00:00 AM

AT THE NEW YORK MARKET —

Four major new beds including one with the same fabrics used for the designer's apparel launch last week, along with an expanded move into freestanding decorative pillows, and a bevy of beach towels and beach blankets highlight the Donna Karan Home collection for spring.

In Blue Moon, part of the Donna Karan Collection, fabrics are directly picked from the new apparel line with the duvet borrowed from a skirt, a silk macrame throw, and a linen with subtle metallic printing used for a pintucked pillow.

As in all the bed ensembles, decorative pillows play a key role. Here they include sheers, denims and a fabric created to look like painted paper — all in novelty treatments. The queen duvet is $1,000 retail; queen sateen sheets are $140.

Also in the Collection is Floating Hibiscus, a dramatic black and ivory hibiscus motif with an engineered panel print as the duvet trimmed with inset piping. The Egyptian cotton percale sheets in white are $140; the duvet is $600 queen.

Accessories in Floating Hibiscus use silk satin as a quilt, and embroidered sheers for decorative pillows as well as interpretations of the printed hibiscus motif.

Tea Leaves, the third Collection bed, is another engineered panel, enhanced with embroidery and trimmed with silk tapes. The quilt in Tea Leaves melds from channel to diamond to border quilting. The collection in natural, caramel and tea tones is accented with kiwi green in decorative pillows. The queen duvet is $600; the queen sheets are $140.

Victorian Falls, the fourth Collection bed, features a linen/cotton duvet with a series of concentric squares in a thick stitch forming the motif. Pillows are subtle, with a raw weave look accented with taping, a jute tape with pleats and a silk that is dipped, dyed, stitched and woven for a unique effect. The queen duvet is $500; the queen sheet is $140.

Decorative pillows in Collection are offered in a wide color range, including husk, orange, palm, antique linen, nude, banana, azure, kiwi, starfruit and pool. Tucks, cordings and stitching in different effects highlight the tailored mood of the pillow collection.

In DKNY Life, a new push on decorative pillows is done by color families: moonstone, champagne, lilac dust and soft fern — all interchangeable. Knits, sequin trims, chiffons, knits edged in fabric fringe and suede with fringe are among the treatments. Floor and chair cushions also are available.

A woven engineered floral is featured as a beach blanket in Collection at 72" x 72", and three prints — Pinwheel Stripe, and Tropical Floral —all in hot colors, are 38" x 68", $35.

In DKNY Life, four new styles include Sea Swept, a beach-inspired bed with a duvet combining ruching, stitching and pintucking; Sheer Bliss, highlighting an amethyst and yellow with a soft cotton ombre effect duvet; Urban Whisper, an Asian-inspired print; and Enchanted Garden, a small floral with ruching and tape accents on the duvet.

DKNY Pure introduces two new beds.

Discussing the business outlook, Patsy Pollack, ceo of Donna Karan Home, said, "Things are much better, especially in the last two months, which has been considerably better. We're back to the level of more than a year ago, when we began the ownership change."

In addition, she pointed to Bloomingdale's and Macy's West, the two biggest accounts, which have recorded strong increases. Also "Marshall Field's has enhanced its Web site and later this fall will have everything that is in the State Street store on the site."

Opening new doors within existing accounts is expected to increase business as well, Pollack related. With 220 DKNY doors and 58 Collection doors, she expects 270 DKNY doors and 60 or more Collection doors by next spring.

On tap are eight more Field's doors, four more Macy's West doors and several at Bloomingdale's.

In the spring, as part of the emphasis on Collection there will be six beds, she said.

As for product expansions, "tabletop is probably next. We expect to have an announcement in the next couple of months."