Donna at the Donmar

Sex And The City did it for Manolo Blahnik - and Friends for Budweiser. Now the London stage is poised to do it for Donna Karan. In the first association of its kind between a fashion house and a West End theatre, the New York designer's label DKNY is to provide the wardrobe for a Donmar Warehouse show.

Notes From New York, featuring the best of the Big Apple's contemporary musical theatre, will showcase outfits from DKNY's spring collection.

And a series of follow-up shows throughout the year will profile clothes from the summer, autumn and winter seasons.

"It's a great coup," said producer Neil Eckersley. "It's the first time the contemporary theatre and fashion worlds have ever collaborated in this way and we're extremely excited.

"This is musical theatre for the Sex And The City generation - with an emphasis on stylish, chic, high-class work. So it's fitting that the performers should be wearing similarly stylish designs.

"The idea of Notes From New York is it's centred around the lives of four young people living their lives in modern Manhattan."

The collaboration involves no money changing hands.

"It's a co-promotional thing," said Eckersley. "They are basically wanting to profile their spring collection and we want the best possible costumes for our show."

Notes From New York features the work of contemporary New York composers - including the UK premiere of songs from Tick Tick Boom, the only other musical penned by Jonathan Larson, the late composer of the hit Rent. It stars Debbie Kurup, who appears as Dee Dee in Tonight's The Night at the Victoria Palace; Paul Spicer, who has played the lead in The Witches Of Eastwick; Julie Atherton, whose credits includes Mamma Mia, and Craig Purnell, who has starred in the RSC's The Secret Garden.

DKNY is known as the funkier cousin of the original Donna Karan label.

The show's choreographer, Paul Spicer, said: "Notes From New York shows feature young, stylish, 20-something individuals.

"The DKNY brand is, therefore, the perfect look and it will hopefully attract a fashion as well as a theatre audience."

Evening Standard fashion correspondent David Hayes said: "It's a cool, urban style."