Diane von furstenberg – fashion royalty, mentor and woman who’s done it all – tells ian lee what she thinks about social media, and why she doesn’t wear her iconic wrap dress anymore.
Diane von furstenberg – fashion royalty, mentor and woman who’s done it all – tells ian lee what she thinks about social media, and why she doesn’t wear her iconic wrap dress anymore.
It’s been 41 years since Diane von Furstenberg created her signature wrap dress – you know, the effortlessly chic patterned day-to-night number that sold by the millions in the ’70s and became an It dress all over again in the ’90s, thanks to stars like Gwyneth Paltrow and Madonna. “When I started, the dress was the key to my independence and
success.
It paid for my house and my children’s education. But it was really only last year (when there was a huge wrap-dress exhibition in Los Angeles to celebrate its 40th anniversary), that I was truly impressed by it for the first time – I realised that it not only impacted my life, but the lives of many others,” the 68-year-old designer tells me in a suite at Th e St Regis Singapore, ahead of her recent opening show for Singapore Fashion Week.
But the Belgium-born American designer (who’s clad in a loose-fitting printed shirt dress when we meet) isn’t ashamed to admit that she doesn’t wear the wrap dress these days. “You need a skinny waist to wear one,” the mother of two (and grandmother of four) says. Her new fave dress? Th e Catherine shirt dress, which features in the brand’s Fall/Winter 2015 Seduction collection. “It has a ruffled skirt and appears in so many ways – as a dress with a shirt under it and even as a
tuxedo dress,” she tells us.
Diane keeps up with the times. She points out that she’s a huge fan of Instagram, Twitter and online shopping. “Everything online is so easy.
I love that I’m old enough to have danced at [defunct New York nightclub] Studio 54 and young enough to be part of the digital revolution!” Staying relevant isn’t just about social media for Diane – she also has her own reality television show on E! called House of DVF, which features young women
competing to become Diane’s brand ambassador.
The show’s second season will air in September. The self-confessed television series fanatic says: “I don’t watch myself on TV, (but) I like (shows like) Scandal, Mad Men and Breaking Bad. I went to Bhutan last year and became friends with the King – and I sent him the whole series of Breaking Bad!” However, Diane admits she watches television only when she’s on holiday.
After all, the woman who does it all is also the president of the Council of Fashion Designers of America, a position she has held since 2006. When we press her to tell us who her favourite young designers are, she says reluctantly: “I’m sort of a mother to all of them, so I’m not supposed to pick a favourite.
But I do think (the girls of) Rodarte are very talented, and so is Alexander Wang, whom I mentored.” With all these different sides to herself – fashion designer, mentor and reality television star – what does Diane consider her biggest achievement? “I’m proud that I can relate so well to women. I was lucky that I became the woman I wanted to be early in life, so my mission is to tell women that they can also be who they want to be. My mission is to empower women!” she says.
