……………..Donna Faske and I met in the summer of 1966……..We had both graduated High School, and lived about 20 minutes from each other……Donna had gone to summer camp with a girl named Leslie Mesh, and they had become good friends…..Leslie and I went to the same High School and we were good friends….When Leslie found out that Donna and I were both going to Parsons School of Design she said, “you two have to meet”, and she set up a meeting……..One summer day Leslie drove us to Donna’s house in one of the 5 towns on Long Island [don’t remember which one]…….Leslie drove her father’s white Cadillac convertible!…….When we pulled up to Donna’s she was sitting on the front stoop of her house…….Donna had on a skimpy white ribbed cotton underwear tank top, short, short shorts, a hip belt, and gladiator sandals laced up her long legs…..Her hair was pulled back into a tight pony tail, and she wore zero make up…….I knew instantly that we were to become great friends…..and we did. We were the only two students in Parsons from Long Island. and spent countless hours at each others homes working on our school projects….We had many, many over nights toiling away…. When we stayed at her house we were usually there before her mother and step father who both worked in NYC. I remember Donna always put up backed potatoes! When we stayed at my house my Mom always made us an Italian dinner!!!! We went to Parsons for two years when Donna got a summer job at Anne Klein who convinced Donna to quit school and work for her…..Needless to say I was saddened about her decision, but I understood what a great opportunity this was for Donna……We tried our best to stay close, but working for Anne was a 24/7 job, and once in a blue moon Donna was able to get out and we would get lunch at BILL’S the local bar/restaurant that was frequented by all of the 7th Ave design crowd…….Donna eventually married and became Donna Karan…….After Anne’s death in 1973 I went to work with Donna as her co-designer at Anne Klein…..the rest is fashion history!……The pictures are mostly after some of our shows in the old Anne Klein showroom so they have to be in the late 70s….The one with me sitting on the floor, Donna standing at the left, and the 5 models is from a Fall preview photo shoot for WWD……..Donna and I worked together from 1974 until 1984, but we were friends from 1966…….It was a good run!
