Donna Karan’s luxurious lifestyle retail brand, Urban Zen opened its doors Monday at the Americana in Manhasset for the start of a one-year run at the location.
The store opens in Donna Karan New York (DKNY)’s location, a company which Karan was sold to Louis Vutton Moet Hennessy in 2000 and is unaffiliated with.
Company officials said the 1,800 square-foot store will stay open for a year and said they have no knowledge of DKNY’s plan of returning to the location.
Efforts to reach Louis Vutton were unavailing.
The officials said Urban Zen is built to create a luxurious retail environment that offers the feeling of walking into Karan’s home.
“Urban Zen’s retail strategy is to curate the customer experience from the start, and provide a platform to tell a deeper brand story and share my journey as a designer and philanthropist,” the company said in a press release.
Company officials said the Urban Zen also supports local production with its ‘buy now, wear now’ collections designed and produced in New York City and Italy.”
Customers can purchase Balinese-made Urban Zen chairs and sculptural tables, and Haitian-designed decorative accessories hand crafted by the country’s artisans.
The shop will also feature women’s modern ready-to-wear essentials, statement jewelry, handcrafted leather pieces and artisan made home decor, company officials said.
Karan, launched Urban Zen in 2007 as a separate venture from the Donna Karan New York company (DKNY) and her Donna Karan Collections.
The brand supports the Urban Zen Foundation, dedicated to celebrating mind, body and spirit through the preservation of culture, integrative health care and education.
Urban Zen has a flagship in New York’s West Village, a freestanding unit in Sag Harbor, and a seasonal shop in Aspen.
The collection is also distributed to specialty boutiques throughout the U.S. and Europe, such as Trois Pommes, A’maree’s and Joan Shepp.
It is also available at urbanzen.com. The company plans to open a Los Angeles Urban Zen store in the fall.
