DKNY

If there was even a shadow of a doubt about the return of the '90s, Opening Ceremony's new project with DKNY should obliterate it.

The retailer will reissue 15 of DKNY's archival pieces from the early '90s, including t-shirts screen printed with the New York skyline and the DKNY logo, a colorblocked jumpsuit, and a cropped puffer jacket. The garments will be available in Opening Ceremony boutiques and on its website this Friday, priced between $145 and $665.

"DKNY was a pioneer of streetwear fashion in the Nineties," said Opening Ceremony's Carol Lim in an interview with WWD. "We have been longtime fans of the brand and were very excited to bring back select, quintessential styles that feel fresh even today."

That freshness may owe a debt to the overall comeback of the '90s in fashion and in culture. MTV resurrected its groundbreaking TV show House of Style in August, and the cult brand X-Girl announced that it would return to the US just this week. When you factor in the resurgence of grunge on the Spring 2013 runways — articulated in the mix of plaid and florals shown by designers like Phillip Lim and Dries Van Noten — there's no doubting that the dream of the '90s really is alive.

That said, part of the target demographic for this collaboration — including the star of its campaign, Cara Delevingne, born in 1992 — probably weren't wearing adult-size clothing when these garments were first introduced. For those readers who don't remember the spirit of Karan's '90s designs — or who just want to take a trip down memory lane — a look back at some of DKNY's ad campaigns from the '90s, here in the gallery.

Source: Instagram User CaraDelevingne

As if to reassert her position as the designer of the most quintessentially New York brand in the industry, Donna Karan's Spring 2013 DKNY show was a love letter to the city that never sleeps written in black, white, and taxicab yellow.

The clothes, "born and inspired by life in the city," according to the show notes, were classic DKNY — they perfectly blended the sporty athleticism women need to make it through pedestrian traffic with an unpretentious elegance. Clean-lined dresses and skirts hit just above the knee with wide perforated borders, while neoprene jersey dresses were accented with mesh panels that showed a little skin. Leather pieces, like a metallic silver bomber jacket and a rich brown dress, added a little edge, and the yellow garments — which included a shirt, a gown, a swimsuit, and the long windbreaker Karan wore to take her bow — were as eye-catching as a cab on a busy street.

This show also included pieces from DKNY's secondary lines DKNY Jeans and pureDKNY, and the denim pieces blended seamlessly with the rest of the collection. After all, city girls need good jeans just as much as they need little black dresses and silk button-ups.

DKNY Spring 2013 was all about the New Yorker's uniform, whether for sport, street, or work. The sporty theme has been a dominant one at Fashion Week thus far — and at DKNY it was expressed through mesh bodysuits, nylon anoraks, and baseball caps (baseball caps seem to be the hat for next season). Then there are uniforms of a different kind, like a perfect denim skirt with a white top, or a canvas and tweed car coat to be thrown over everything. It was all about updated basics you could wear all the time, from day to night, and who doesn't want that kind of versatility? Ashley Greene, the brand's recent ad campaign star, was in the front row and seemed to be especially excited by a denim-skirt-and-white-top combo, while Donna Karan took her bow in a bright yellow nylon anorak and her signature black bodysuit and black pants.

• Trends: Sporty, cutouts, mesh, sleeveless blazers, monochromatic dressing.
• Colors: City neutrals — white, black, and "taxicab" yellow.
• Key Piece: The all-white opener was chic, as were the anoraks, a denim skirt, and an awesome sleeveless blazer.
• Accessories: Pointy ankle-strap heels, baseball caps, backpacks, and fanny packs.
• Who Should Wear It: This is for someone who defines easy street style — we could see SJP rocking the slouchy denim looks.

Donna Karan's Resort 2013 offering for DKNY was a meditation in contrasts that played tough leather against demure silks. Simple t-shirts in delicate pastel tones punctuated the virility of cowhide pants, and a classic trench coat got a timely update with leather sleeves. Karan's Holiday collection, presented in conjunction with Resort, showed an implicit version of the same edge, using zebra prints and bold colors to make powerful statements.