Individuality is key to Karan's fall/winter designs

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From Elsa Klensch
CNN Style Correspondent

NEW YORK (CNN) -- For Donna Karan, the fall/winter season signals a return to carefully crafted, fitted outfits that, at the same time, are easy to wear.

"The collection is really about the individuality," the designer said. "I find right now what's happening is fashion is dictating a singular point of view -- and where does the individuality of the woman come in then?"

For her designs, Karan tried to create an airier, lighter-weight fabric that still has structure, blending a number of different materials to create her intended effect.

"Very much combination -- cashmere, mohair, silk -- all combined into the fabric," she said. "It's really an unusual technique of how to create a new type of fabric."

The airier yet structured material also had an impact on the silhouettes.

Donna Karan

"We've gone lean and we've gone shaped, two definite, defined shoulder types -- very structured and very square."

Karan's collection has a large number of dresses, including velvets, satins, cashmeres and chiffons.

For color, Karan said she was tremendously influenced by a trip to Bhutan and Nepal, where she was enchanted by the rich red hues. She tried to blend those Asian-inspired colors with more modern ones.

"It's joining the two worlds," she said. "I sort of put it as sex and soul -- how to find the common denominator between the two worlds."

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Donna Karan

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