Donna Karan Fall 2026 campaign

Donna Karan New York released its Fall 2026 advertising campaign on September 2, putting Kendall Jenner at the center of a global push that the brand said will run across digital, print and outdoor placements this month. The images were photographed by Mert Alas and staged across New York City, which the company said is being used as an extension of the collection itself. Donna Karan said the campaign is the first since the brand’s relaunch to unfold across iconic city locations. The release comes one week before New York Fashion Week begins on September 10. ### Why is Donna Karan using Kendall Jenner for this campaign? Kendall Jenner is the face of the Fall 2026 campaign globally, according to Donna Karan’s September 2 announcement. The company said Jenner was chosen to embody what it described as a link between “the woman and the city,” a phrase it used to frame the collection and the wider brand identity. (crweworld.com) Donna Karan said Jenner appears in imagery meant to connect the label’s New York roots to a contemporary audience. Secondary coverage from fashion outlets said the campaign also draws on archival Donna Karan signatures, including the bodysuit, while positioning Jenner inside a city-led visual narrative rather than a studio-only fashion shoot. (crweworld.com) ### What exactly did the brand say about “the woman and the city”? Donna Karan said the label “has always been defined by two enduring muses: the woman and the city.” In the company’s campaign text, it said one shapes the other and that together they represent a spirit that is “powerful and effortless, timeless and unmistakably modern.” (fashiontimes.com) The Fall 2026 campaign, the company said, is built to reinforce that relationship by using New York’s “energy, texture, and light” as part of the visual story. That wording places the city not just as a backdrop but as a core campaign element in the brand’s own description. (crweworld.com) ### What is new about this campaign compared with Donna Karan’s recent work? Donna Karan said this is the first time since the brand’s relaunch that a campaign has been shot across iconic New York City locations. That detail is one of the clearest distinctions in the company’s release and ties the Fall 2026 imagery directly to the label’s original city-centered identity. (crweworld.com) Mert Alas photographed the campaign, according to Donna Karan and syndicated versions of the release. Other coverage said the imagery references a late-1980s Donna Karan campaign photographed by Dennis Piel featuring Rosemary McGrotha, linking the new work to the house archive. (crweworld.com) ### Where will people actually see the campaign? Donna Karan said the campaign launched on September 2 across its social channels and will be supported by a “360-degree approach.” The company said that media plan includes digital platforms, print placements and premium outdoor displays. (markets.businessinsider.com) September is the key timing. The brand said the campaign will appear worldwide this month, giving it visibility during the run-up to the industry’s next New York collections cycle. ### Why did the timing land now? The CFDA said its preliminary official New York Fashion Week schedule for the Spring/Summer 2027 season starts on Thursday, September 10, and ends on Tuesday, September 15. (financialcontent.com) The schedule includes 70 runway shows and presentations, opening with Diane von Furstenberg under Henry Zankov and closing with Thom Browne. Donna Karan’s September 2 release places the campaign directly ahead of that window, when fashion brands typically compete for attention across media, retail and social platforms. The next concrete date in the calendar is September 10, when the official New York Fashion Week schedule begins. (crweworld.com) (cfda.com)