Empowering women has been an integral part of Donna Karan’s brand DNA for the last quarter of a century. From her seminal 1992 ‘In Women We Trust’ advertising campaign, for which Peter Lindbergh shot a woman being sworn in as president, to capitalising on the concept of a capsule wardrobe for busy, working mothers, with her ‘seven easy pieces’, Karan’s designs are as purposeful and relevant as they are elegant.

 

This year the brand celebrates its 25th anniversary, and with it the launch of pureDKNY fragrance – a project that has fittingly seen Karan consolidate her work with women. At the heart of pureDKNY is a vanilla accord that uses beans sourced from Ugandan vanilla farmers, most of whom are women. In partnership with the charity CARE, the funds generated by pureDKNY will allow these women to establish Village Savings and Loan Associations (VSLA). Through VSLAs, the women can both save and borrow money to help with healthcare, food and education for them and their children, as well as the possibility of borrowing funds to set up further money-generating schemes and businesses. Ultimately, for these women the project generates the priceless commodity of their independence and a way out of poverty without having to rely on anyone but themselves.

             

The Ugandan vanilla is mixed with Bulgarian rose and lotus flower, and offset with top notes of jasmine and freesia for what results in a delicate, aquatic-floral fragrance that smells exactly as the name suggests. The juice is neatly packaged in a fresh and fluidly designed bottle that is as unsullied as the fragrance itself.

 

pureDKNY 100ml is available from February 2010, at £60 a bottle.

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