Donna Karan seems her own muse — and customer

NEW YORK — Donna Karan test drove pieces of her fall collection before she sent them down the catwalk at New York Fashion Week on Monday.

“I took it last night. I couldn't wait to wear it,” Karan said in a post-show interview after greeting guests Uma Thurman, Gretchen Mol and longtime friend Bernadette Peters.

The goal, she explained, was clothes that work for the woman always on the go, with many interests, demands and pleasures. That sure sounds like Karan.

She called the collection “Sensual, Soulful, Sculptural,” and there's an emphasis on sculptural, making a dedication in her notes to her late husband, sculptor Stephan Weiss. “His art and soul — is a part of me.”

There was a rawness to the collection, and it seemed like it came from the heart.

The opening look — one of the best — was a black draped “bodydress” with a fluid, almost liquidlike, cape on top. It was modern yet timeless, and wearable to the large base Karan appeals to.

There were a lot of body-conscious stretch and jersey looks, as there usually are on this runway, many topped with coats that were textured and interesting, and had a lot of design packed in.

She mixed neoprene and cashmere and made a taffeta down puffer jacket.

Some dresses stand on their own, including a dramatic pewter-colored jersey evening dress with a cape-style back in the seductive style Karan masters.

“I believe the body talks a language all its own. Depending on your DNA, these clothes say something new every time, and create a statement all your own,” Karan said.