Aspen Peak - Niche Media - Aspen living at its peak
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photography Courtesy of urban Zen Karan's new Harmony collection, available at Urban Zen, is a silhouette-forward study in tones. below: Urban Zen's pop-up occupies 2,500 square feet of ground space at the Residences at The Little Nell. "YOU COME IN HERE AND YOU FEEL THE ARTISAN TOUCH." —DONNA KARAN and filling it. A protégé of Anne Klein (no relation to Calvin), she launched her namesake brand, Donna Karan, in 1985, followed four years later by a more affordable line, DKNY, focused on essential luxury for the modern woman. In 2008, boasting numerous awards, including the 2004 Geoffrey Beene Lifetime Achievement Award from the Council of Fashion Designers of America, the oft- hailed "queen of Seventh Avenue" launched the Urban Zen Foundation. The nonprofit collaborates with artisans in Haiti and elsewhere to create sophisticated, wear-everywhere clothing and posh home furnishings that benefit the greater good. "The Urban Zen mission is to dress and address," Karan says, "to bring mind, body, and spirit into healthcare and education." By combining Western medicine with Eastern healing techniques, the Urban Zen Foundation aims to improve treatment experi- ences for cancer patients and families of survivors in less fortunate parts of the world. Preserving culture though craftsmanship is a driving force. "You come in here and you feel the artisan touch— whether it be from candles to furniture to art objects, objects of desire," Karan says, adding that a portion of sales benefits the Urban Zen Foundation's health- care and vocational-educational programs in Haiti, as well as its integrative therapist-training program in New York. "For me, the magic is being able to employ, develop, and grow with the artisans." Karan's spring visit, not to mention Urban Zen's reception, was such a success that "Aspen is abso- lutely next on our store plan," the designer says. A long, contemplative walk with photographer Russell James was so enthralling that the pair ended up lost and knee-deep in snow. "Nature has always been my inspiration. The whites and pale grays, the stormi- ness of the trees and snow—that was for Aspen," Karan says of a recent collection, which includes seamless, tubular knits exclusive to the brand. "Urban Zen [is] a store where you can buy, immedi- ately"—referring to Urban Zen's in-season selling, as opposed to the preseason scheduling of most fashion houses—"something that will connect with your heart, a luxury that will last forever." To do that, Karan seeks to engage customers beyond retail therapy, an inclination that resulted in the pop-up's popular weekly meditation series. Indeed, her vision of Aspen's stand-alone boutique features an adjoining yoga studio. "Urban Zen fits here perfectly because of what this city stands for: community, consciousness, and change," Karan says, citing The Aspen Institute as a model of innovation. "Aspen is most certainly an iconic ski town, and I credit that to the people who live [here] even more than to its natural beauty." The Residences at The Little Nell, 501 E. Dean St., 970-710- 2961; urbanzen.com AP 40 aspenpeak-magazine.com STYLE Tastemaker