Last night London College of Fashion played host to an evening with New York based designer Diane Von Furstenberg. She spoke openly about her life, including her two marriages, her two careers, Studio 54 and her love for hiking.
She is currently in London as she was asked to judge Texprint which she really enjoyed and commented, "it was inspiring to see fresh talent that hasn't been corrupted yet!" She was presented with a thank you card from all the participants of Texprint which she gratefully and emotionally accepted.
Von Furstenberg looks amazing, I wasn't aware of how beautiful she really is but she was dressed in a simple black knee-length shift with a colourful print blazer and looked glamorous. She began by talking about her childhood when she attended various schools around Europe. Von Furstenberg was born in Belgium, and commented that it was "the perfect country to escape from."
Von Furstenberg is incredibly witty, it's something that you don't really expect but then there are many sides to her that you wouldn't imagine, for example how much she loves to hike. "I am a hiker," she commented, "I love to hike and I'm pretty good, I'm like a goat".
It would be easy for Von Furstenberg to become complacent about her success. Her dresses are popular with women across the world and are incredibly wearable. She is often described as understanding women although even jokes about that, "Well, I've always been a woman". Actually, what it comes down to is the sheer determination that Von Furstenberg had to be successful. Even from a young age, she knew what kind of woman she wanted to become, she wanted to be a sophisticated, glamorous and, most of all, independent woman. Despite her wealthy background she always placed a great emphasis on independence.
"My mother told me that the most important person to trust is yourself," and seems that Von Furstenberg may have learnt that first hand. She refers to her life as having two careers, the first one began in the mid-70s in New York when she famously arrived at Vogue with a suitcase full of clothes. She was relatively clueless about the whole industry when she met with Diana Vreeland, then editor of US Vogue who Von Furstenberg describes as just as intimidating as Wintour but in a different way. With Vreeland's approval, Von Furstenberg's clothes began selling in stores across the US.
She travelled across America, ("I can list all 50 states in 3 minutes," she muses) promoting herself and her brand which was a real learning curve as she tried her clothes on "real women". It was during this time when she partied at Studio 54 although admits that she never lost herself there, merely enjoyed the company of attractive people you could meet! She eventually encountered financial problems and her brand fell through her hands so she decided to quit and moved in with a Parisian writer.
Her second career began eight years ago when she decided to relaunch DVF. She is now happy with the brand and does not want it to grow any bigger. Her designs are available in a staggering fifty-seven countries and she will own twenty-two shops by the end of the year. Her main objective is to ensure that the brand last longer than she does. She is also the president of the CFDA (Council of Fashion Designers of America) and is very active in her role as she realises the importance of giving and sharing success.
