“I design for the woman who loves being a woman.”

— Diane Von Furstenberg

The DVF brand all started in 1972 with a simple premise, “feel like a woman, wear a dress”. Two years later the iconic wrap dress was born and along with it came a totally new approach to American sportswear design. Being that it was both commercially viable and universally flattering what other choice did the fashionable frock have but to become an instant classic? By 1976 and 5 million dresses later, Diane graced the covers of Newsweek and the Wallstreet Journal being heralded as the most marketable woman since Coco Chanel. So who was this woman with both brains and beauty that had suddenly turned the fashion world upside down?

The socialite/model turned entrepreneur was born Diane Halfin on December 31, 1945 in Brussels, Belgium. Fürstenberg went on to study economics at the University of Geneva in Switzerland, where she met her first husband. Several years later, Diane picked up and moved to New York where she and her dress rose to stardom. Her successful career was not without its share of ups and downs. Overexposure, new trends, and bankruptcy almost spelled the end for the empire causing the designer to move to Europe to regroup. But, it wouldn’t be long before she would reclaim her former fashion glory. Fast forward to 1997 and out comes a new generation of women who could properly appreciate the infinite versatility and spirit of the wrap dress. Young fashionistas were coming out of the woodwork, clamoring for Diane’s phenomenal creation. Never one to miss a business opportunity, Furstenburg decided that it was the right time reinvigorate the fresh idea that put her on the map in the first place.

Today we still love Diane for her unabashedly feminine design point of view and her bold and beautiful use of color and print. Over the course of 30 years, she’s lent her signature style to everything from designer luggage to perfume to sidekicks. Season after season she captures our multiple fashion personalities with collections that are at once fun, funky and sophisticated. As the dress has regained cache over the last few seasons as a must have, I can’t help but to think how DVF has forever changed the way women get dressed.

Spring 2008 Diane Von Furstenberg

Fall 2008 Diane Von Furstenberg