Donna Karan: Creating a Conscious Community
Shoptalk Radio Ep. 92
I’ve got a really exciting and special guest for you guys today. Donna Karan is an icon in the fashion industry, and the creator of her companies Donna Karan and DKNY, which are two of the largest fashion brands in the world. Her latest project, Urban Zen, is a fashion brand that embodies holistic living and also has a philanthropic side. Donna graduated from Parsons School of Design, worked for Anne Klein, and has won multiple awards from the CFDA, and is truly a rockstar in the fashion world. She writes about the many ups and downs of her extraordinary life in her new book My Journey.
Donna is a wonderful human being who is doing a lot of good for the world, and I’m so honored that she came on the show. Listen in as we discuss her thoughts on education in the field of fashion, her passion for philanthropy, and more.
I also want to tell you about the 8 App, co-founded by my friend Sonja Nuttall. 8 is a mobile media platform where users can build an audience and make money from their popular content, and then use that money to support their favorite charities. You can check it out by searching The 8 App in the app store.
The 8 App is a mobile media platform that is building a fun, creative, and inspiring community which allows users to tell stories through photo and video, build an audience, and make money from their popular content. The 8 app is unique for its ability for it’s users to monetize their popular or “viral” content; your creativity is beautiful and you should own it! Most mobile media companies sell ads on user content, taking advantage of the user’s popular content without compensating the user. By directly partnering with advertisers, The 8 app enables users to activate advertisements from brands of their choice within their content in return for 80% of the advertising revenue generated from those advertisements. This is a greater earning for users than any other comparable social sharing platform, and the first social network with a transparent and sustainable business model.
But while making money from content is a huge bonus to sharing content on The 8 App, the heart and soul of the platform is to provide a framework for empowering it’s users and to remind people that their voice matters. Not only can users generate earnings from their content, but they have the built in option to pay it forward to causes and charities they support.
The 8 app is the creation of Sue Fennessy, an ad industry veteran. Her motivation to create The 8 App is to create a social network based on positivity, empowerment, and social change. The 8 app already has a great deal of celebrities, large brands, and social stars uploading exclusive content. The 8 App is a notable player in the mobile and social space and is one of the few to be built on a sustainable and transparent business model.
I feel that young people today need to see the world and give of themselves.
Some things we learn in this podcast:
- How she got into fashion [4:10]
- Where she got the inspiration for her first collection [6:55]
- How she has dealt with loss in her life [7:35]
- Her involvement in activism and health [8:40]
- What holistic practices she has [12:55]
- How meditation and self care has helped her in her business [16:05]
- Her involvement in conscious consumerism [16:55]
- What she values about education [19:25]
- How to get people involved in finding solutions [23:45]
- The challenge of walking away from DKNY [24:15]
- How technology is changing the fashion world [25:10]
- Why it’s important to act upon what you’re inspired by [29:25]
Links mentioned:
- Get a copy of Donna’s book My Journey
- Learn more about Super Saturday
- Check out Donna’s organization Urban Zen and shop Urban Zen
- Learn more bout Urban Zen’s Integrative Therapist Program
- Sign up for the 8 app and be sure to check out my profile!
- Music Credit: Departure by Imagined Herbal Flows
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Nick Onken is a photographer, author, and creative entrepreneur. In SHOPTALKradio he dives underneath the hood and into the mind of successful creative entrepreneurs, brilliant business minds, and other highly influential personalities. Discover how to make a living with your art, create your own creative lifestyle, and push past the fears that hold you back. Listen in to get inspired and unlock you inner creative.
