WWDMILESTONES

SECTION II

THE WRAP IS 40

Viva
DVF!
Diane von Furstenberg marks four
decades of celebrating the dress,
feminine power and style.

EMBRACING TECH

ALL ABOUT
THE BUSINESS

ON THE DIVAN
WITH DIANE

THE ULTIMATE
LIFESTYLE
PHOTO BY JOHN BRIGHT

Diane von Furstenberg at Studio 54 in 1978.

2 WWD MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 8, 2014
SECTION II
WWD MILESTONES
‘It All Began With the Dress’
Highlights and sive, would follow in 1994.
milestones through 1995
the years. Compiled by The company licenses Avon for mod-
erate-priced casual sportswear called
Dianne M. Pogoda Diane von Furstenberg The Color
Authority, part of Avon’s $130 million
Diane von apparel business.
Furstenberg
featured in
an early ad.
The designer started selling on QVC in 1992.
1997
DVF relaunches the wrap and a new
apparel line under the label Diane,
PHOTO BY ROGER PRINGENT
with Saks Fifth Avenue, rejuvenating
her business. She moves Diane von
Furstenberg Studio to a renovated car-
riage house in the Meatpacking District.
■ Limited alum Susan Falk is named to
the new post of president and chief ex-
ecutive officer of Diane von Furstenberg
Studio; Catherine Malandrino joins as
1970 vice president of design.
Princess Diane von Furstenberg, mar-
ried to Prince Egon von Furstenberg of 1998
Austria, arrives in the U.S. with jersey The designer writes her memoir,
dresses she’d had made in Italy, and “Diane: A Signature Life.”
the seeds of a fashion business.
1999
1974 Paula Sutter joins the company as
The wrap dress is born, putting Diane president, succeeding Susan Falk.
von Furstenberg in business. Her slo- ■ DVF is elected to the board of
gan: “Feel like a woman, wear a dress.” the Council of Fashion Designers of
America.
1975 ■ The Diller-von Furstenberg Family
The von Furstenbergs separate. Foundation philanthropic organiza-
■ DVF launches her first fragrance, tion is founded.
Tatiana. ■ DVF outfits all 85 contestants in
vivid cocktail dresses for the opening
1976 number of the Miss Universe pageant.
Selling more than one million wrap
dresses lands von Furstenberg on the 2000
cover of Newsweek. DVF.com relaunches.
1979 2001
In-house cosmetics line is developed. DVF’s first freestanding shop opens on
DVF writes “Book of Beauty: How to West 12th Street in Manhattan.
Become a More Attractive, Confident ■ Nathan Jenden joins as creative
and Sensual Woman.” director.
■ Diane von Furstenberg Style for ■ The house introduces intimate apparel.
Living Collection for Sears encom- ■ E-commerce is added to the Web site.
passes bedding, bath, curtains, dinner- ■ Von Furstenberg marries Barry Diller.
ware, rugs and furniture.
2002
1983 Von Furstenberg becomes an
DVF sells its cosmetics business to American citizen.
British pharmaceutical giant Beecham ■ After a 20-year hiatus, DVF signs a
Group Ltd. worldwide licensing agreement with
■ The von Furstenbergs divorce. Inter Parfums for fragrance, cosmetics,
skin care and related beauty products
1984 under the Diane von Furstenberg,
Von Furstenberg sells her name and DVF, Diane von Furstenberg The Color
licenses and moves to Paris, starting a Authority and Tatiana marks. A color and
publishing house under the name Salvy. fragrance line would launch in 2003.
■ DVF receives a lifetime achievement
1990 award from the National Association of
DVF returns to the U.S. and starts the Women Business Owners.
process of buying back her name.
2003
1992 ■ DVF teams with Reebok’s RBK label
DVF begins appearing on QVC to sell on a line of tenniswear.
Silk Assets, an exclusive line of print ■ DVF rugs launch through a partner-
and solid separates. Sales during her ship with London-based The Rug Co.
first show are said to total $1.2 million ■ The company’s first shop in Europe
in two hours. Her relaxed knitwear, opens in London’s Notting Hill, and a
called Casual Chic, also a QVC exclu- store opens in Coral Gables, Fla.
2004
DVF opens its first Paris flagship, a
1,600-square-foot shop at 14 Rue D’Alger.
■ The firm licenses Italian silk giant
Mantero for a beach line and foulard
collection and H.Stern for fine jewelry.
2005
Von Furstenberg receives the Lifetime
Achievement Award from the CFDA.
■ DVF opens her first Russian store
in Moscow, and shops in Los Angeles,
Hong Kong and Paris.
2006
The designer is elected president of
the CFDA.
■ A shop opens in Antwerp, Belgium.
■ DVF and its Japanese distributor,
Unit & Guest, open the brand’s first
freestanding store in Japan, in Tokyo’s
Aoyama district.
2007
DVF opens a flagship in the
Meatpacking District, as part of a larger
complex that ultimately includes its
headquarters, a 150-seat theater, show-
room, studio, offices and an
apartment for the designer. Tabletop, 2011.
■ First China store opens
in Shanghai. Others open
in Saint-Tropez, Brussels,
Moscow, Madrid and London.
2008
Second freestanding
Japanese store opens in
Tokyo’s trendy Roppongi area.
■ First Las Vegas store
opens at The Shoppes at
the Palazzo.
■ Von Furstenberg becomes
a board member of Vital
Voices, a women’s leader-
ship organization.
■ DVF pens “Be the Wonder Woman
You Can Be, Featuring the Adventures
of Diva, Viva & Fifa,” a DC comic de-
signed to empower women, with illus-
trations by artist Konstantin Kakanias.
■ Von Furstenberg is honored with a
plaque on Seventh Avenue’s Fashion
Walk of Fame.
2009
Marchon wins DVF’s eyewear license.
■ DVF opens in the ION Orchard high- chief operating officer and Michelle
end mall in Singapore.
■ With Vital Voices Global
Partnership, DVF stages an accesso-
ries competition to enable women in
developing nations to advance their
businesses.
■ The brand’s fifth U.S. store opens at
the Shops at Bal Harbour in Florida.
2010
The Diller-von Furstenberg Family
Foundation establishes the DVF Awards
to honor and provide grants to women for
leadership and commitment to causes.
■ Yvan Mispelaere joins as creative
director, succeeding Nathan Jenden.
■ Von Furstenberg taps the Radio City
Rockettes to perform at the Life Ball
PHOTO BY JOAN GARVIN
Barry Diller, Mayor Michael Bloomberg
and von Furstenberg at the High Line
groundbreaking in 2006.
WWD.COM
2010, wearing DVF wrap rompers.
■ DVF designs a series of print-filled
suites for Claridge’s hotel in London.
■ The designer receives the André
Leon Talley Lifetime Achievement
Award from the Savannah College of
Art and Design.
■ The company unveils its first store in
Latin America at Iguatemi São Paulo.
“Journey of a Dress” is shown there.
■ Stores open in Istanbul and Dubai.
2011
Diane perfume is introduced.
■ The Diller-von Furstenberg Family
Foundation grants $20 million to help
finish the High Line park in New York.
■ The Municipal Art Society of
New York awards its Jacqueline
Kennedy Onassis Medal to Diane von
Furstenberg for work in preserving the
city’s great architecture.
■ A second New York shop opens on
Wooster Street in SoHo.
■ A home collection of tabletop, bed-
ding and rugs bows.
■ Grace Cha, a former Valentino USA
exec, joins the firm as vice president of
global communications, a new position.
■ “Journey of a Dress” goes to China,
part of DVF’s push, which includes
social media, to become better known
there. Her account on Chinese micro-
blogging site Sina
Weibo picks up 25,000
followers in its first
few days.
2012
Forbes names von
Furstenberg the most
powerful woman in
fashion.
■ Joel Horowitz joins
as cochairman.
■ Yvan Mispelaere
departs.
■ DVF teams with
Gap on a GapKids col-
lection, and with Roxy
on a one-time line of swimwear and
accessories called DVF Loves Roxy.
■ The firm unveils a new store format
at The Forum Shops at Caesars in Las
Vegas, with a focus on accessories.
■ The spring 2013 runway features the
launch of Google Glass.
2013
Paula Sutter departs.
■ Eran Cohen is named chief market-
ing officer, Robert J. Almerini joins as
Ryan is named to the new post of ex-
ecutive vice president of accessories.
■ DVF throws her support behind the
Hudson Yards project and its Culture
Shed as a potential future home for
New York Fashion Week.
■ A dedicated accessories shop opens
in the gallery space of DVF headquar-
ters, paving the way for a big push in
the category.
2014
Fashion jewelry, home fabrics and
trimmings with Kravet, as well as
DVF sun and optical frames made for
Google Glass, are introduced.
■ Michael Herz is named artistic director.
■ Bellevue Square store in Seattle
opens, two more shops are slated for
Southern California and DVF signs
on for a 2,000-square-foot space at
Brookfield Place in Lower Manhattan.
■ “The Woman I Wanted to Be” mem-
oir is published.
■ DVF is tapped to receive the
Superstar Award at The Fashion Group
International’s Night of Stars in the fall.
■ The brand marks the 40th anniversa-
ry of the wrap with the exhibition and
online series for “Journey of a Dress”
and teams with E to launch “The DVF
Project,” a competition reality show.
 Amazon Fashion Congratulates

DIANE VON FURSTENBERG

ON  YEARS
of

ICONIC STYLE
AND GLAMOUR.

Amazon.com Fashion
Smart is Beautiful.
4 WWD MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 8, 2014
SECTION II
WWD MILESTONES
DVF’s Confidence Game Reflections on a career — and life — well-lived. By Jessica Iredale
FROM DAY ONE, Diane von
Furstenberg has been a journal-
ist’s delight, a ready-made gift from
the press gods. And in the 40-plus
years since she arrived on American
soil — as one half of a young, exotic
European royal power couple, ready
to work hard, play hard — there has
been no dearth of copy devoted to
her story. It’s a fairy tale, really, ex-
cept the Belgian princess ends up
as president — of American fash-
ion: three terms and counting at the
CFDA — and her (second) prince
charming is a bona fide media king.
Casual research yields an ava-
lanche of press clippings chroni-
cling four decades of DVF’s fabu-
lousness and fortitude: her 1969
marriage to Prince Egon von
Furstenberg, who gave her their two
children and her name; her sensa-
tional wrap dresses and her com-
pany’s resulting fortune. Newsweek!
Cloudwalk! Open marriage! Divorce!
Market oversaturation. Fashion
’’
irrelevance. A string of high-profile
flings followed by a four-year lov-
ers’ retreat to Bali, then four years
playing the part of obedient Parisian
homemaker. And then — poof! —
the epiphany that working, specifi-
cally in fashion, was her identity.
Von Furstenberg made her reentry
through the very un-glam back door
of QVC in 1992.
Through the ups and downs, there
is a consistent figure: Barry Diller,
DVF’s billionaire best friend, who
she married in 2001, forming a union
that, at the time, WWD described as
“a bit too Cole Porter for the under-
sophisticated.” Writers have rou-
tinely described von Furstenberg as
“feline” and a “catwoman” for her
seductive purr. She always seems to
land on her feet.
Lest anyone wonder what could
possibly be left to tell about this
woman’s life, in addition to this ar-
ticle and the entire, 40-page special
section in WWD, von Furstenberg
has a new book out this month titled
“The Woman I Wanted to Be.” It’s
the sixth she’s written about herself
and her lifestyle. Other DVF editions
include “Diane: A Signature Life,”
“The Table,” “The Bath,” “Beds”
and “Diane von Furstenberg’s Book
of Beauty.” There’s also a forthcom-
ing biography called “Diane von
Furstenberg: Her Own Brilliant
Invention” by Gioia Diliberto, which
von Furstenberg mentioned on the
last Wednesday in July during a two-
hour window she allotted for WWD
before sailing off on Eos, Diller’s 305-
foot yacht, until September.
It’s fair to say von Furstenberg
would be the kind of girl girls love
to hate if she weren’t a girl’s girl —
a woman’s woman, rather — down to
her marrow.
“My mother always told me, ‘It’s
so important to be a woman.’ I so
much like to be a woman,” said von
Furstenberg. “So women’s causes,
clearly, resonate to me. The first
thing was to empower myself, but the
minute I was empowered, it was to
empower other women through my
work, selling confidence.”
Her mantra of female celebration
and power has always been the fiber
— jersey aside — of her brand. “Feel
like a woman, wear a dress,” was the
directive she wrote to accompany
her first wrap-dress campaign in
1972. That spirit remains dynamic
today, which finds DVF in a reflec-
tive moment. “I’m at the autumn of
my life, which is nice because it’s
also my favorite season and the af-
ternoon is my favorite moment of the
day,” she said, sitting in the corner of
a massive purple couch in her pink
palace of an office on 14th Street.
“It’s a very good time to be, and
now…you know, I’m delusional. I am
67 years old. That is old.”
I also became the woman I wanted
to be through fashion — and
through fashion, that was my way
of giving it to other women.
— DIANE VON FURSTENBERG
Von Furstenberg is in legacy mode,
positioning her company for the fu-
ture using the considerable flash of
her past. In January, she staged her
blowout retrospective wrap exhibi-
tion, “Journey of a Dress,” in the for-
mer May Department store space in
Los Angeles, the final leg of its inter-
national tour, which included South
America and China. Her latest mem-
oir, “The Woman I Wanted to Be,” fur-
thers the brand’s endowment.
“I was so honest that I almost felt
like I’m at the gynecologist,” said
von Furstenberg. “I mean, I hold
nothing back.”
Oh, yes, a journalist’s delight.
Divided into chapters includ-
ing “Roots,” “Love Beauty,” “The
American Dream,” “The Comeback
Kid” and “The New Era,” the book
gets personal: losing her virginity;
the first time she slept with Diller,
when both were so nervous they
each took a Valium and fell asleep;
the first time she actually had sex
with Diller; her “girl crush” on Gia
Carangi; surviving cancer; her inse-
curities about aging, and her many
business impulses and misjudg-
ments. Anyone remember Diane, the
store she opened on a whim in the
Sherry-Netherland hotel?
“It’s my journey with my faults
and my advances,” she said. “I real-
ize how crazily impulsive I am and
how it’s good and how it’s bad. But I
also became the woman I wanted to
be through fashion — and through
fashion, that was my way of giving it
to other women. There’s so many mes-
sages. The message is that it doesn’t
matter how successful you are, you
can still be insecure. But at the same
time, the big message is, the most im-
portant thing in life is the relation-
ship you have with yourself. Because
if you have that, then any other rela-
tionship is a plus and not a must.”
For all her fascinating history,
von Furstenberg is very much a crea-
ture of the now. “I was so lucky to be
young in the Seventies and enjoy the
Seventies and have fun at Studio 54
but be young enough to be part of
the digital revolution,” she says. “I
love the digital revolution. I love my
e-mail. I love the fact that I can intro-
duce to you somebody else without
ever speaking. It gives me so much
’’
flexibility. I have access to every-
thing. I can see, learn, everything at
any time I want. I love that.”
Two years ago, during a preview
of her spring collection with WWD,
DVF stopped the walk-through and
said, “I want to introduce you to
someone.” Enter Sergey Brin, doing
his best to validate the Silicon Valley
stereotype in shower sandals, gym
shorts and a thermal, a deer in head-
lights in front of a clique of fashion
editors. After a round of introduc-
tions, von Furstenberg said some-
thing to the effect of “How does it
feel to shake a $10 billion hand?”
She wouldn’t reveal what Brin was
doing in her studio, but, a few days
later, Google Glass launched on her
spring 2013 runway. Though Google
Glass has yet to gain mainstream
traction, it’s on its way courtesy of
von Furstenberg’s fashion eyewear
collaboration earlier this year.
Such a partnership is a testament
to von Furstenberg’s instincts, her
ability to see, since her first business
venture, where the culture is going.
She was, after all, a princess selling
affordable dresses based on the de-
sign of a bathrobe. She also shilled
Diane von Furstenberg Silk Assets,
her line of washable silk separates,
on QVC before home shopping was
a celebrity sure thing. (To be fair,
Susan Lucci was there first.)
Asked where that intuition comes
from, von Furstenberg replied,
“Because I care! I read. I’m read-
ing [“Capital in the Twenty-First
Century” by Thomas Piketty] be-
cause I care about the distribution
of wealth. People don’t see it as a
revolution. People pay no attention
to what is going around in the world.
I mean, I am engaged. Once you are a
little bit successful, once you have a
voice, you meet people.”
Von Furstenberg has always run
in an impressive circle. There were
Egon and Barry, of course, but a few
of the names that punch up the copy
of her book include Marisa Berenson,
Yves Saint Laurent, Bernardo
Bertolucci, Andy Warhol, Richard
Gere. The guest list at her July 4,
1976, party included Mike Nichols,
Candice Bergen, Louis Malle, Milos
Forman, Slim Keith and Claudette
Colbert. She’s bonded with Bruce
Springsteen over their love-hate
relationship with their curly hair.
Deepak Chopra made a house call to
Cloudwalk when von Furstenberg re-
ceived her cancer diagnosis.
Exposure like that is not only
good for networking and business
deals but also impacts one’s world
view. What does a woman blessed
with the best of the best think of the
current global state of affairs?
“Truly, right now, I am very worried
about the world,” said von Furstenberg,
referring to the intolerance and ter-
rorism emanating from the Middle
East. “I think it’s never been as
scary as it is right now for me in my
lifetime. Who would have thought
we would have religious wars now?
When I was young, there was none of
that. So, it’s a very scary moment.”
Von Furstenberg is nothing if not a
consummate optimist. Thus: “But what
I like about now is this new technol-
ogy,” she said. “Thank God. Imagine
if there were no digital revolution?
All the wealth would be built on in-
vestment and real estate. It would be
so depressing. This new wealth and
new ideas and all these people — it’s
so fun. They don’t really care about
money. They want to change the world.
They want to conquer Mars, they want
to do all these things, and I think that’s
really exciting.”
She, too, is thinking ahead, particu-
larly when it comes to her company. At
67, she has a renewed business focus,
investing in infrastructure so that
DVF, the brand, can thrive once the
woman herself is no longer involved.
In October 2013, von Furstenberg’s
then-president Paula Sutter left the
company. Sutter began working with
DVF in 1999 and was instrumental in
building back the brand from scratch.
“We were Thelma and Louise,” said
PHOTO BY GEORGE CHINSEE
von Furstenberg, referring to the re-
launch with Sutter. “She was 31 and
had just had a baby. She had so much
energy, and it was so much fun. And it
{Continued on page 6}
 WWD MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 8, 2014 5
WWD.COM

Diane von Furstenberg in her Meatpacking District office.

6 WWD MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 8, 2014
SECTION II WWD.COM

WWD MILESTONES

Confidence Four
Game Decades
{Continued from page 4}
was really a women’s company. We rode the wave
in a big way.”
They had a $200 million business. Von
Of DVF
Style
Furstenberg wanted a $2 billion business. In
2012, Joel Horowitz, the former partner of Tommy
Hilfiger, came on as cochair of DVF’s board. Since
then, they have made massive internal changes,
including the recent hire of Michael Herz as artis-
tic director. He comes from Bally and curated the The silhouettes,
“Journey of a Dress” exhibition.
“I really would love for Michael to be my the prints
Christopher Bailey,” said von Furstenberg. “Right and more,
now, my role in the company is to carve as deep
into the DNA as I possibly can so that the com-
here and
pany will be able to live after me. People say, why page 8.
do you always say that? Because I always think
that way. Everybody that comes to Cloudwalk, I
take them to show them where I’m going to be

’’ buried. There’s not a day in my life that I don’t

think I can die.…So, now, I realize that, OK, my
company should last after me. And, therefore, I
want to prepare it.”
Von Furstenberg is scouting for a new ceo. The
dress exhibition and the book are all part of the
boost strategy. Later this year, a television show,
“The DVF Project,” will air on the E network. The
premise involves young women competing for the
role of DVF global ambassador. “She’s got to be
more than pretty,” said von Furstenberg. “It’s basi-
Fall
1970

Right now, my role in the

company is to carve as deep
into the DNA as I possibly
can so that the company
will be able to live after me.

’’
— DIANE VON FURSTENBERG

cally about young girls learning about the fashion

business. It’s also about all those shows that tell
you that if you have fake tits or if you’re the bitch, Fall
you win — and this is the opposite. I’m very nur- 1973 Fall 1977
turing, very mentoring. It’s fun.”
Maternal warmth comes naturally to von
Furstenberg. She exudes it. She interrupts an in-
terview to take a call from her daughter, Tatiana,
with whom she speaks once a day. One side of
their conversation: “Oh, God bless you! I’m so
happy for you. I love you so much, Tatiana. I love
you so much. And I love the House of the Right
Words. I love it. I love it. Yes, I love it. I love it, and
I’m so proud of you. And I love you, love you, love
you. And I only picked up because it was you, but I
can’t speak. OK, God bless. Ciao.”
“She bought Norman Mailer’s house in
Provincetown,” von Furstenberg explained.
She encourages all women to have children.
She’s the woman she is today because of her own
mother, Lily Nahmias, who survived 13 months in
PHOTOS BY TONY PALMIERI, PIERRE SCHERMAN AND NICK MACHALABA

Auschwitz and Ravensbrück. She was 22 years old

and weighed 49 pounds when she was liberated
from the camps. Pregnancy was not recommended
for someone who had been through such physical
stress, but von Furstenberg was born a year and a
half after Lily’s liberation. Von Furstenberg says it
wasn’t until her mother’s death, in 2000, that she
realized what an influence her mother had been.
Lily was not the coddling type.
“She was very tough,” von Furstenberg re-
flected. “She was a tiger mother.” Though that
wasn’t DVF’s parenting style, she believes in the
tiger mom.
Asked if her mother gave von Furstenberg her Fall Spring
work ethic, DVF said, “No. She told me that I was 1974 Fall 1975 1977
responsible for myself.”
 AN ICON WRAPPED IN AN ICON.

American Express would like to congratulate trusted friend, partner and visionary
Diane von Furstenberg on the 40-year journey of her timeless wrap dress.

Photograph by Roger Prigent ©2014 American Express Company.

8 WWD MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 8, 2014
SECTION II WWD.COM

WWD MILESTONES
Spring
1983

Spring
Fall 1982 Spring 1983 1989

Fall Spring Spring

1998 2002 2006

PHOTOS BY THOMAS IANNACCONE, TONY PALMIERI, GIOVANNI GIANNONI, STEVE EICHNER, GEORGE CHINSEE, TALAYA CENTENO, DAVID TURNER AND KYLE ERICKSEN
Fall
1998

Spring
1999
Fall 2014

Fall 2010 Fall 2011

CONGRATULATES DIANE VON FURSTENBURG ON THE

ANNIVERSARY OF HER ICONIC WRAP DRESS

10 WWD MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 8, 2014
SECTION II WWD.COM

WWD MILESTONES

Twiggs

Fit to Print
JUST AS THE WRAP DRESS is synonymous with Diane von
Furstenberg, prints are synonymous with the wrap dress.
Cubes
Von Furstenberg’s textiles history predates her most famous sil-
houette. Working for Angelo Ferretti’s factory in Como, Italy, in the
late Sixties was her second gig in fashion, secured, in typical von
Furstenberg form, through her fabulous connections: She ran into
Ferretti while gallivanting in Capri with Marisa Berenson, then a
client of the fashion photographer Albert Koski, whom DVF was as-
sisting in Paris. She traded her photo apprenticeship for a manufac-
Chainlink turing one, accepting Ferretti’s invitation to come to his factories,
one specializing in prints, another in silk knits and cotton jersey.
Von Furstenberg owes a huge debt to her time with Ferretti,
from whom she learned many of the techniques she still uses
today. There are 15,000 prints in her archive, including what
she’s coined the Six Sisters: Twiggs, Cubes, Chainlink, Leopard,
Python and the graphic Signature. They formed the visual cor-
nerstone of her “Journey of a Dress” exhibition.
Asked what makes a good print, von Furstenberg said,
“Contrast. Movement is very important. You see, all my prints
move, so that when she wears them, a woman feels feline.”
— JESSICA IREDALE

Leopard Python Signature

All for the 40th The

TO FETE HER 40TH, one project
just wouldn’t do. Instead, Diane
von Furstenberg this year embarked
on a range of milestone-related
events and initiatives, sponsored
by American Express, ranging
from a far-away fashion show to a
collaboration with Gwenyth Paltrow.
— LAUREN MCCARTHY
AMEX Unstaged: Following DVF’s
supermodel-filled fall show last
February, American Express card
members were invited to stay after
for a special treat: a Q&A with the
designer, as well as a performance
by indie songstress St. Vincent.
Warhol Collaboration: DVF has
partnered with the Andy Warhol
Foundation to produce “Pop
Wrap,” a limited-edition collection
of wrap dresses, T-shirts and
accessories that combine original
DVF prints with signature Warhol
designs. Proceeds from sales of
the collection will benefit the
Andy Warhol Foundation, which
supports contemporary art.
“American
Express
Unstaged”
Q&A.
Global Influencer Program: DVF
tapped a slew of fashion’s hottest
starlets, including Coco Rocha,
Chiara Ferragni, Emma Roberts
and Jourdan Dunn, to star in
her “Journey of a Dress” video
campaign. The series features social
media dispatches from each of the
subjects wearing DVF’s chain-link
wrap dress, as well as a monthly
Webisode series on dvf.com.
Wrap Stories: Women around the
world are encouraged to submit
their own “Wrap Story” detailing
an experience with the dress or
showing how the style has influenced
their lives. Selected essays will be
featured on dvf.com.
Tokyo Fashion Week: In March,
the designer traveled to Tokyo —
her first trip there in five years
— to stage a reprise of her fall
runway show. As one of Tokyo
Fashion Week’s most anticipated
events, DVF ended the spectacle
with a finale of gold gowns and
matching confetti.
MyTheresa Exhibition: Online retailer
MyTheresa hosted a private event
in June to celebrate the milestone.
The dinner included a mini
exhibition of DVF’s wrap dresses, as
well as a conversation between the
designer and MyTheresa creative
director Julia Reed.
Anniversary Windows: In June, von
Furstenberg celebrated her window
display at Bergdorf Goodman
with an in-store appearance.
Bloomingdale’s will follow suit this
month at its Manhattan flagship.
The public display of affection will
hit overseas, as well, with a window
display at Paris’ Galeries Lafayette
this month. The French retailer will
also carry several exclusive styles.
Mini Exhibitions: DVF is globe-
trotting with a series of mini
exhibitions, which will feature a
collection of new and vintage wrap
dresses that span the past four
decades. The tour kicked off in
June in South Korea, and will hit
Thailand, Beijing and Shanghai
this month. Still to come: Dubai in
October and London in November.
Animated Video: Teaming with artist
and illustrator Konstantin Kakanias,
DVF has created an animated video
titled “Unwrapped.” The 60-second
video features a young, fashionable
woman on the go, dressed in a wrap
dress. The cartoon launched July 21
on the DVF Web site.
Goop Collaboration: “Diane
epitomizes the 21st century
archetype of a woman,” said
Gwyneth Paltrow, founder of Goop,
a digital media site. “We at Goop
all aspire to her honesty, majesty
and glamour.” DVF joined forces
with Paltrow’s e-commerce venture
on a limited-edition collection,
due out this month. The collection
will include a mix of ready-to-wear
and accessories, available for
purchase exclusively on Goop.com.
“Journey of a Dress” Exhibition
Book: Forty years boils down to
256 pages in “DVF,” a hardcover
coffee-table book. The Rizzoli
tome, edited by Bill Katz, features
photos by Helmut Newton, Annie
Leibovitz, Francesco Scavullo and
many others, with images of the
wrap dress on the likes of Jerry
Hall, Iman and Michelle Obama.
It can be preordered on Amazon,
but lands on bookstore shelves
on Nov. 18.
Net-a-porter Collaboration: Starting
in November, Net-a-porter is
honoring the 40th anniversary of
the wrap dress, devoting a special
section of its site to the dress and
selling exclusive wrap styles.
 Thank you for sharing
your unique talent, inspiring
success and genuine warmth.
You are a true role model
for women everywhere.

Don’t miss the premiere of Diane’s original new show on E!,

a series about what it takes to be a DVF Girl. Coming this November.
12 WWD MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 8, 2014
SECTION II
WWD MILESTONES
Robe Model A look at the birth — and staying power —
of a fashion classic. By Marc Karimzadeh
TO TRY TO ANALYZE THE wrap
dress silhouette, think of a sarto-
rial mash-up of a kimono and a chic
bathrobe, draped and tied, in jersey,
and executed in a lean way that flat-
ters almost any body type.
For Diane von Furstenberg, it
took the “Journey of a Dress” exhi-
bition and the display of the wrap
through the years to realize just the
icon she had on her hands.
“For a long time, I took it for grant-
ed,” von Furstenberg said. “I paid no
attention. Then, after I decided to do
the exhibition, and saw the dress that
way, I stopped looking at what the
dress had done for me, which is pay-
ing all my bills, and realized that the
dress had something on its own. The
dress was more important than I was,
and I was like a conduit for it.”
The look came in many varia-
tions, from the slinky floor-length
number sleeveless dress, the off-
shoulder style, the slip design, the
two-piece wrap top with matching
pants, the Chinese-inspired number,
the back wrap and, more recently,
the fit-and-flare silhouette. The var-
ious patterns — i.e., the designer’s
signature or lip motif, geometrics,
animal and floral prints — also pro-
vided creative points of difference.
The design has garnered quite
a celebrity following in the last
four decades. In the Seventies, it
was modeled by the likes by Patti
Cybill Shepherd
in “Taxi Driver,”
1976.
WWD.COM
An illustration by Hiemstra, 1998.
Hansen, Janice Dickinson and
Lisa Taylor, and worn by Cybill
Shepherd in “Taxi Driver.”
After von Furstenberg success-
fully revived the style, a whole new
generation discovered it, includ-
ing Paris and Nicky Hilton, Amy
Winehouse, and Michelle Obama,
who chose to wear a black-and-
white design for the Obamas’ first
Christmas card from the White
House, as well as a recent encoun-
ter with Kermit the Frog.
Madonna wore a green and
white version for a “Spirituality for
Kids” event in Tel Aviv in 2004, and
Ingrid Betancourt, after six years
held captive by revolutionaries in
Colombia, made the wrap her first
fashion purchase.
Recently, there have also
been more screen moments,
among them Amy Adams’ char-
acter in “American Hustle”
and Penélope Cruz in
“Broken Embraces.”
“It took me 30 years be-
fore daring to say that I was
a designer,” von Furstenberg
said. “I have never wanted
to make a fashion statement
and always said my dresses
are friends to the women
who wear them. But in
the end, no one ever has
had a dress that lasted
that long.”
SHEPHERD PHOTO BY PETER SIMINS; ADAMS BY FRANCOIS DUHAMEL/©COLUMBIA PICTURES/COURTESY EVERETT COLLECTION; RUNWAY BY GEORGE CHINSEE
Above: Spring 2010.
Right: Wraps from the Seventies.
Amy Adams in
“American Hustle,”
2013.
14 WWD MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 8, 2014
SECTION II
WWD MILESTONES
Reality of the Wrap
DIANE VON FURSTENBERG has
been a part of the cultural history of
fashion since the early Seventies, when
she burst upon the New York social
scene as part of an “It” couple with her
first husband, Egon von Furstenberg.
The wrap dress, which she launched
in 1974 and relaunched in 1997, has
been her signature, loved and worn by
generations of women who have found
that it offered them style and security.
“Diane is a woman of power and
’’
passion,” said Donna Karan. “Being a
woman, understanding the body, Diane
brought ease and sensuality to every-
day dressing. She created an iconic de-
sign that has withstood the test of time.
Creatively speaking, there’s no greater
accomplishment. The wrap dress will
live on forever.”
“You know, I have a very personal
memory of the dress,” said Harold
Koda, curator in charge of the Costume
Institute at The Metropolitan Museum
of Art in New York. “In 1976, I was
going to the ballet a lot, and I remem-
ber sitting in the [Lincoln Center] plaza
waiting, and noticing the number of
women who were wearing that wrap
dress in a small green print or a small
black print. I think it had the kind of
impact that the Armani suit had for
men in the Eighties.
“I think it said a lot that she just had a
finger on the pulse of contemporary ideas
of womanhood,” he added. “It was just a
kind of protean item in one’s wardrobe.”
Koda compared the dress to Charles
James’ spiraling wrap taxi dress of the
Thirties and Claire McCardell’s shirt-
dress in “very crisp cotton” of the Forties.
What made it right for the time. By Lorna Koski
“It’s the kind of thing that really is
almost beyond fashion, like a chemise,
and when I use the word ‘protean,’ I
really mean it literally,” he continued.
“The way you wrap it, the waistline
rises or falls. In the Seventies, it was
as vivid a signature as a Pucci print
and it became as much a signature as
a shape, but it really is the functioning
wrap dress itself that I think is adapt-
able and pleasing to most figures.”
All different types of women wore it
then, and all different types of women
wear it now, because it is about the
individual....It is still unbelievably flattering
and brings the woman into focus.
— DIANE VON FURSTENBERG
Koda noted that, although European-
born, von Furstenberg is “really in the
tradition of pure American design.”
Valerie Steele, director of The
Museum at FIT, said, “When Diane von
Furstenberg appeared on the cover
of Newsweek wearing her now-iconic
wrap dress, it encapsulated a moment
in fashion history. Her slogan ‘Be a
Woman, Wear a Dress’ was perfect for
an era in which women were achieving
equality in the workplace and no lon-
ger wanted to look like imitation men.
The revival of the wrap dress in recent
years indicates that the simplicity and
elegance of the style remains relevant
to contemporary women.”
The designer herself pointed out that
she wasn’t really thinking of anything as
abstract as the cultural importance of the
dress when she designed it — and she has
an extremely clear recollection of just
how the signature shape itself was born.
“I just set out to make little dresses
that were easy, simple and that could
’’
be worn everywhere,” von Furstenberg
said. “I had discovered this wonderful
jersey fabric that could be printed, and
I had started making a T-shirt dress, a
shirtdress and a great tent dress, short
and long. I then designed a wrap top,
similar to the wrap sweaters balleri-
nas wore. I made it with a matching
skirt. It sold really well, and I decided
to attach the top to a skirt and turn it
into a dress. The wrap dress was born.
Because it had a collar and cuffs, it felt
tailored, but because it was jersey, it
felt to be exactly what women wanted
WWD.COM
A scene from “Journey of a Dress.”
at that time....It was both liberating and
empowering, and women embraced it
in an overwhelming way....This is what
gave it its cultural significance.”
The context of the time of its incep-
tion was also important, she added.
“In the Seventies, it was very excit-
ing, because it allowed a woman to go
to work and still feel like a woman,” she
remembered. “I used to count the dress-
es walking up and down Park Avenue.
All different types of women wore it
then, and all different types of women
wear it now, because it is about the indi-
vidual....It is still unbelievably flattering
and brings the woman into focus.”
The dress was a star of a remark-
able show in Los Angeles, the “Journey
of a Dress,” a retrospective of the
wrap, which opened at the former May
Co. building on Wilshire Boulevard in
January.
“It is fascinating to see the history and
influence one dress has had on multiple
generations of women who embraced it
for many reasons, from its shape, to ease
of wearing, from the Seventies to today,”
said Michael Herz, artistic director at
Diane von Furstenberg, who worked
closely with his boss on the show.
When asked whether she had a
sense, 40 years ago, that her design
would have the longevity that it has,
von Furstenberg responded, “I had no
idea! Even when women everywhere
were buying them and they put me on
the cover of Newsweek and The Wall
PHOTO BY JOHN SCIULLI
Street Journal, I knew that it was a
big deal at the time, but did I think I
would still be talking about that dress
40 years later? Certainly not.”
CONGRATULATES EVERYONE AT DVF
ON 40 YEARS OF THE WRAP DRESS!
16 WWD MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 8, 2014
SECTION II WWD.COM

WWD MILESTONES was working with and discover-

ing new, burgeoning talent in the
modeling world for her ad cam-
paigns and runway shows. Some
of those models included Jerry
Hall, Gia Carangi, Iman, Janice
Dickinson and Pat Cleveland.
While it’s true that just about
every “It” model has walked
or posed for von Furstenberg,
the designer’s eye for new tal-
Daria Werbowy ent hasn’t dissipated. She was
in DVF’s most among the first designers to use

The Camera recent fall

campaign.
Below, Model
Danielle Zinaich
“It” girls Arizona Muse, Karlie
Kloss and Daria Werbowy, who
is the current face of her brand.
But in the mid-Eighties, von

Loves You, Darling

Chronicling DVF’s love affair with the media. By Alexandra Steigrad
IT’S NOT QUITE the classic
rags-to-riches story of a poor
immigrant landing in America
with just a few bucks in his
pocket and a dream of finding
fame in the fashion industry,
but nonetheless, Diane von
Furstenberg arrived in the U.S.
44 years ago with the idea of
making her own name.
With notions of becoming a
designer, the striking young prin-
cess, who had married German
prince Egon Von Furstenberg
just a year earlier, came with a
suitcase filled with jersey dresses
that she’d had made in a friend’s
factory in Italy.
Although she arrived with far
more connections than most, the
Belgian-born von Furstenberg
wanted her own identity. She
achieved that feat quickly,
charming the media with her
fairy-tale story and good looks.
She would often say: “I
didn’t always know what I
wanted to do, but I knew the
kind of woman I wanted to be.”
But by the time she came to the
U.S., von Furstenberg did know
she wanted to start her own
line of women’s clothing. Kick-
starting her business would
prove to be a natural for her.
A glamorous, leggy socialite
with high cheekbones and an
elegant yet effortless style, she
quickly took New York by storm.
She was photographed often at
sizzling Studio 54 or catching up
with well-heeled friends and ac-
quaintances like Andy Warhol,
Yves Saint Laurent, Pierre
Bergé, Diana Vreeland, Halston,
Bianca Jagger, Iman and Barry
Diller (whom she would later
marry, following her 1983 di-
vorce from the prince).
“Her lifestyle and her busi-
ness were very engaging,” said
Eran Cohen, chief marketing of-
fice at DVF. “She was a princess
for DVF’s ad Furstenberg’s business had
campaign shot slowed down. Eschewing bank-
by Bettina ruptcy, the designer moved
Rheims, which back to Europe. Determined,
relaunched she eventually returned to
the brand. New York in 1990 and began
rebuilding her name. In 1997,
living in New York surrounded she relaunched her company
by the who’s who of fashion and with the wrap dress, after she
her husband, Egon, the prince. saw young women buying the
She was selling this simple dresses in vintage shops. She
dress, and it really took off.” played off that theme in her
In March 1972, she landed ad campaign, which was shot
the cover of socialite glossy by Bettina Rheims, featuring
Town & Country with Egon. model Danielle Zinaich. The
Called “The Couple Who black-and-white spring 1998
Conquered New York,” the campaign included two shots of
cover depicts Diane front and the same model and the quote:
center, while the prince furtive- “He stared at me all night. Then
ly remained in the background. he said, ‘Something about you
But Diane, who was the focal reminds me of my mother.’”
point of that cover, was also on When the brand hired Laird
the rise for her talent as a dress + Partners in 2011, the cre-
designer. And she often served ative agency continued von
as her own model. In her first ad- Furstenberg’s playful humor with
vertising campaign, the designer a surrealist spring 2012 campaign
posed coolly on a white block in by Camilla Akrans. It featured a
a chain-link print dress. On the model wearing a mirrored mask
block, she wrote in marker: “Feel over her face, reflecting the sky,
like a woman, wear a dress,” in a sort of nod to Salvador Dalí,
loopy cursive that was accompa- and the designer’s motto: “Be the
nied by her signature. The photo woman that you want to be.”
would launch her line, and even- According to Hans Dorsinville,
tually become the brand’s tag executive vice president and
line, which she still uses today. senior creative director at
And then, in 1974, von Laird, the advertising cam-
Furstenberg hit on something paigns were just an extension
big. She introduced the knitted of the brand’s roots.
jersey “wrap dress,” which was “Diane is the embodiment
meant to make women feel ef- of the brand. We asked who
fortlessly sexy and independent. should this woman be? It was
According to Cohen, the roots very much Diane,” Dorsinville
of the brand came from that said, adding that the agency
dress and that first campaign. came up with three words that
“The idea of the brand, this represented the brand: effort-
effortless, sexy kind of feel — it less, sexy and on-the-go.
permeates everything we do,” Using those words and vin-
he said. “In the Seventies, Diane tage photographs as inspira-
was really the face of her brand. tion, as well as signature prints,
That was novel. Even back then, Laird began to piece together
she was innovating. In the days how it would devise its cre-
before social media, she was so- ative strategy. Along with von
cial, on the plane, going every- Furstenberg, the agency identi-
where, meeting with customers.” fied Daria Werbowy as a muse
Her authenticity resonated. and someone who embodied
In the Sept. 13, 1976, issue of The the brand and looked like its
New Yorker, the magazine re- founder. It also brought on styl-
ported that the 29-year-old von ist Edward Enninful, who works
Furstenberg reeled in $60 million on DVF’s runway shows, so its
in sales in 1975. A year later, the campaigns would maintain a
sense of consistency.
Von Furstenberg’s Although the brand’s core has
first Interview not changed, Dorsinville noted
magazine cover, that the agency is working more
1977. on digital initiatives and target-
ed outdoor advertising.
company said it sold over a mil- magazine put her on its cover He noted that working with
lion wrap dresses, and that feat twice, once in 1977 and then in the founder of the brand is “help-
landed the designer on the March 1981. She would use the latter ful” — particularly this founder,
22, 1976, cover of Newsweek. cover, Richard Bernstein’s illus- who is constantly looking for-
Headlined “Rags & Riches,” tration of her in a Balinese head- ward and striving to innovate.
Newsweek hadn’t initially in- dress, as inspiration for her well- “Advertising is always the
tended to put the designer on known lips logo, which she uses same. You work with these
the cover; President Gerald in her ads, stores and on clothing brands — there’s lots of com-
Ford was slated for that lofty and accessories to this day. petition — but you find their
PHOTOS COURTESY OF DVF

honor. But, at the last minute,
the editors switched him out,
Cohen said, noting that it would
be one of many covers the de-
Diane von Furstenberg’s Newsweek cover, 1976, and the von Furstenbergs signer would nab. Interview
featured on the cover of Town & Country, 1972.
By 1979, the brand had
reached about $150 million in
annual retail sales, according to
a story in The New York Times.
Around this time, the designer
voice,” Dorsinville said.
“Diane says, ‘Repetition is
recognition.’ In fashion, things
move so fast, but a brand has
to have some consistency.”
18 WWD MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 8, 2014
SECTION II
WWD MILESTONES
The DNA of DVF
In a wide-ranging discussion of strategy and evolution, cochairman Joel Horowitz
details the road to the next level and beyond. By Lisa Lockwood
JOEL HOROWITZ WAS on a golf course
in Miami two years ago when he received
a phone call from his friend Tommy
Hilfiger. (Horowitz had been chairman
and chief executive officer of Tommy
Hilfiger Corp.) The designer had just had
lunch with Diane von Furstenberg, who
wanted to meet Horowitz.
“Tommy had been trying to get me to
go back to work. We’ve looked at a lot
of deals over the years with Silas [Chou]
and Lawrence [Stroll], and nothing was
that interesting to me,” said Horowitz,
who retired from Hilfiger in 2005.
Horowitz said he wasn’t interested
in a “real fixer-upper,” taking a com-
pany and restructuring it through
cutbacks. Nor was he interested in
something that was really small and
needed to be built from the ground up.
Von Furstenberg was looking to start
a board of advisers because she want-
ed to take DVF to the next level and
thought Horowitz might want to join.
“I came up to meet her and we hit it
off right away. I got the brand immedi-
ately by seeing her office and how it fit
her personality,” said Horowitz.
Von Furstenberg, who had already
built a personal legacy, talked to
Horowitz about wanting to build a leg-
but told her that he doesn’t do boards.
“But if you sold me part of your com-
pany, I’d have to be on the board,” he
’’
acy business that could long outlive her,
he said. He enjoyed the conversation,
said. “We both laughed. I left, and about
six weeks later, she called and asked if I
was still interested, and I said yes.”
Horowitz said he’d done his due dili-
gence, spoken to a lot of people and re-
tailers, and got “amazing feedback” from
everybody. “Her goodwill is so tremen-
dous. Everyone wants her to succeed.”
Horowitz returned to have lunch
with von Furstenberg’s husband,
Barry Diller, and her son, Alex von
Furstenberg, and they talked at length
about the type of business he would
want to build. They decided Horowitz
should put together a business plan to
present to the family to make sure they
were on the same wavelength.
“We all agreed, and that’s why I’m
here,” said the 63-year-old Horowitz.
Named DVF’s cochairman in
September 2012, Horowitz was hired
to bring a level of professionalism to
the company and prepare it for an
eventual public offering. He is often
credited with building Hilfiger into an
international multichannel brand. He
served as Hilfiger’s business partner
and ceo for 19 years, stepping down as
ceo in 2003 and then becoming execu-
tive chairman of the board that same
year, and non-executive chairman of
the board in 2005. He retired on Oct. 31,
2005, and in 2006, he, along with a man-
agement group and Apax Partners Inc.,
took Hilfiger private. It was eventually
sold to PVH Corp. in 2010 for $3 billion.
Horowitz said the reason he doesn’t
join boards is that he considers himself a
hands-on executive: “I either have to be
in or out. I’m not one of these people
who could sit on three or four boards
and give you a 40,000-foot view of some-
thing. I need to be in the specifics of
the business, or not at all.”
Horowitz developed a business plan
for DVF that “was based on having the
confidence that this brand could be
the next multibillion-dollar brand,” he
It’s all about the heritage and core DNA
of what this brand stands for, which is
a woman who is confident, ageless.
— JOEL HOROWITZ
said, noting that he wasn’t looking to
take a business from a couple of hun-
dred million dollars to $300 million,
$400 million or even $500 million. He
saw an opportunity to have distribution
all over the world. To achieve that, he
put several elements into the plan.
“The company up until this point
had been run purely as a family opera-
tion. There was no major investment
made in the business. All the invest-
ment came from the natural flow of the
business,” he said. “In today’s world,
that’s not going to get you very far.”
His business plan called for building
a major retail network and an acces-
sories division within the company for
handbags and eventually footwear, and
developing a corporate infrastructure.
Obviously, that would take a lot
of money.
Horowitz met with the family and
threw out a number based on his past ex-
perience looking at many different com-
panies and designing business plans over
the years. He said the family put in their
share, and he put in his share.
“We’re now two years into the plan.
It was a six-year plan with a focus on
building a corporate infrastructure
that could support the growth in the
’’
plan, investing in retail stores, build-
ing a stand-alone accessory business
and continuing to invest in our ready-
to-wear business,” said Horowitz.
He added that the strategy calls for
them to more than double the business
in a five-year period, “which we’re well
on our way to doing.”
When Horowitz arrived at DVF, there
were 11 freestanding stores in the U.S.
Today, there are 21 open, and in the
next seven months, the company plans
to open another 10 domestic stores.
But how does he know there’s enough
demand out there for the product?
In Horowitz’s opinion, one of the
best parts of the business is that in its
40-year history, the brand has built up a
lot of goodwill, not just in the U.S., but
globally. When he joined the company,
it had a total of 55 stores globally. All of
the international stores were done with
franchised partners, except for the ones
the company owns in France.
“The demand for the brand was
there. It was a matter of giving con-
sumers what their expectations for the
brand were. And that, quite frankly,
was one of the issues when I got there,”
Horowitz said. “The product had gone
off brand. There was no consistency in
WWD.COM
the product and no consistency in the
advertising. That was the bad news.
The good news was that the stores and
the consumer had great affection for
the brand and wanted to see it win.”
First and foremost, the top priority
was to get Diane von Furstenberg “back
in the driver’s seat.” Horowitz said
she had walked away from design and
brought in a European designer, Yvan
Mispelaere from Gucci, “and gave him
the keys to the house.”
“It was a big mistake,” said
Horowitz. “That was the main demand
I had when I said I would come back
in. It would be only if she stepped back
in to be the creative director of the
brand. She is the brand. She created it,
it’s expressed in everything she does.”
In February, DVF hired Michael Herz
as artistic director. Von Furstenberg
brought him on to consult on the exhibi-
tion marking the 40th anniversary of the
wrap dress. Herz curated it, and as part
of putting together 200 wrap dresses, he
created 40 new styles to complement 160
historical wrap dresses.
“It was a great audition for Michael, to
see if he would be the next person to bring
in as artistic director,” said Horowitz.
For his part, Herz said, “Diane is some-
one I have been inspired by as a person
and designer since I was a design student.
She surrounds herself with every genera-
tion of creative people, and it is inspiring
to watch and be a part of every day.”
“Diane is here 100 percent. She now
has someone she can rely on totally to
make sure things get executed accord-
ing to brand,” he added.
A major initiative at the company
is to maximize its accessories offer-
ings, which at present account for 15
percent of the business. DVF’s acces-
sory division is mainly handbags. It
also makes scarves and small leather
goods. Horowitz explained that when
he arrived at the company, the category
was treated as an accessory to the rtw.
It wasn’t set up as a freestanding unit
with a business head, creative people
and sourcing people. Now it is its own
division, with its own P&L. The head of
the division is Michelle Ryan, who has
been at DVF for a year and previously
worked at Jimmy Choo.
Naturally, an ambition for the com-
pany would be to develop an “It” bag
that would take off and be identifiable as
DVF. Asked if she is known for a particu-
lar handbag, Horowitz said, “Not yet.”
Opening more stores around the coun-
try is an immediate objective. DVF has
opened stores in Seattle, Las Vegas and
Scottsdale, Ariz., and will soon open in
Aventura, Fla.; Miami’s Design District;
Glendale and Santa Monica, Calif., and
The Grove in Los Angeles. The three
new L.A. stores will bring the total in
California to five. There are already units
on Melrose Avenue and at South Coast
Plaza in Costa Mesa.
“I believe we can have 100 stores
in the next five years,” said Horowitz.
Other stores will open throughout 2015
at the Americana Manhasset in N.Y.
and in Atlanta and San Francisco.
“We want to start moving into
PHOTO BY THOMAS IANNACCONE
Chicago and Houston,” he added.
Horowitz has no big plans to expand
the brand’s wholesale base, but he does
want to build its business within stores
that already carry the line. Aimed at
{Continued on page 20}
1EVGLSR'SRKVEXYPEXIW(:*EWXLI]'IPIFVEXIĂþ]IEVWSJ8LI;VET(VIWW
©2014 DIANE VON FURSTENBERG STUDIO L.P. PRODUCED AND DISTRIBUTED EXCLUSIVELY BY MARCHON EYEWEAR, INC. STYLE DVF595S, COLOR 001 BLACK
20 WWD MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 8, 2014
SECTION II
WWD MILESTONES
The DNA of DVF
{Continued from page 18}
the higher end of the market, DVF sells
to stores such as Bloomingdale’s, Saks
Fifth Avenue, Neiman Marcus, Bergdorf
Goodman and Holt Renfrew, as well as
specialty stores like Scoop and Intermix
and Web sites including Shopbop.com,
Net-a-porter and Matchesfashion.com,
which is its partner in the U.K.
The strongest markets for DVF are
New York, Miami, Texas and California.
During the six years that Horowitz
was away from the business, e-commerce
took off in the industry, but ironically, he
didn’t make that a big part of his initial
business plan. So when he took the DVF
job, he found it interesting how impor-
tant e-commerce was to the business.
“We do a very sizable dot-com busi-
ness. Having been away from the busi-
ness, I didn’t realize how significant dot-
com could be. When Diane first told me
what percentage of sales the brand does
online, I didn’t believe her at first.”
But after doing some research,
Horowitz quickly realized she was cor-
rect. Between their own Web site and
third-party sites like nordstrom.com,
bloomingdales.com and saks.com,
close to 30 percent of the business is
generated online. DVF’s online store
does more business than any of her
freestanding stores.
“Diane has always been a leader
when it comes to technology,” Horowitz
said. “She’s always invested in dot-com,
both internally and with third parties.”
DVF licenses footwear to Schwartz &
Benjamin. “That’s a category that needs
a lot of focus. We should sell two pairs
of shoes for every dress that we sell, and
we sell a lot of dresses,” he said.
Next spring, DVF will launch fash-
ion jewelry with Haskell Jewels. The
collection includes necklaces, ear-
rings, rings and bracelets, retailing
from $68 to $628, far below those of
von Furstenberg’s high-end collection,
Diane von Furstenberg by H.Stern,
which has pieces priced up to $100,000.
The company will start shipping out-
erwear, which is licensed to Herman
Kay, as a separate classification for fall,
and has home fabrics with Kravet. DVF
no longer makes home furnishings, ex-
cept for rugs. “Not everything was rosy
when I got here,” said Horowitz. “There
were a few deals that needed to be un-
wound. Home furnishings was one of
them, fragrance was another.”
At present, DVF does not have a fra-
grance license. Its other licensees are
Paula Sutter
PHOTO BY DAN D'ERRICO
Sutter’s Stamp
WORKING IN TANDEM WITH Diane
von Furstenberg, Paula Sutter, presi-
dent of DVF from 1999 to 2013, was in-
strumental in revitalizing the brand.
During her tenure, Sutter posi-
tioned DVF in the contemporary area,
opened many stores around the globe
and extended the brand into new cate-
gories and 70 countries, while boosting
the company’s overall profile.
Randa for luggage, Marchon for eyewear
and The Rug Co. for handwoven rugs.
Another big push is its international
business. Some 40 percent of DVF’s
sales come from overseas. Europe is
the largest market, and it also has a
rapidly growing business in Asia. China
is currently a big focus for the compa-
ny. DVF plans to open 10 to 12 stores a
year there with a partner, Globalluxe,
and will have 18 stores by yearend.
Throughout Southeast Asia, includ-
ing Hong Kong, Macau, Indonesia and
Malaysia, there are 24 stores, which
were also opened with Globalluxe.
Horowitz said the company is reno-
vating its London flagship on Bruton
Street, and will renovate its Paris store
next year. “Both of those stores will
mirror what we’re doing here in the
Meatpacking District, a lightly elevated
and evolved design concept,” he said,
adding that they’ve been opening a lot of
the most recent concept stores with its
partner in China and Southeast Asia.
The house also plans to open a few
more stores in Tokyo with its partners.
It has a nice business in Turkey and took
back the Russian license from its partner.
Currently there are no freestanding
stores in Prague or Berlin, but there is a
shop in KaDeWe in Berlin.
Globally, DVF has 95 full-price
stores, and expects to double that num-
ber in five years. During that period, the
company’s volume will more than dou-
ble what it is today, predicted Horowitz.
At present there are global flagships in
London, Paris, Brussels, Tokyo, Hong
Kong, São Paulo, Beijing and Dubai.
Horowitz said 60 percent of the busi-
ness is generated in the U.S. He still sees
great opportunity within the U.S. to grow.
“I said to the family, ‘You know what
you guys did? You sprinkled your fairy
dust all over the world. You have a little
bit here, a little bit there, all goodwill, but
you don’t dominate anywhere. In order to
bring the business to the next level, you
have to be dominant in your home mar-
ket.’ So that’s why our financial resources
are focused here,” he said.
Over the past few years, the rtw stum-
bled, but Horowitz believes business has
improved, specifically where they had
lost a lot of ground. “Now, depending on
the store, some weeks we’ll be the num-
ber-one performer on the floor, but cer-
tainly number two or three,” he said.
The company is trying to gradually
move itself out of contemporary and
into the designer two world.
“For me, that’s a huge difference.
It’s accessible designer. We sit near Red
Valentino, Burberry Brit and M Missoni.
That’s where we like to sit,” Horowitz
said, noting that contemporary “is
“When I got there, it was a very small
company. It wasn’t a situation where there
were levels of management. They had a
quite a few licensees. Diane was very pop-
ular on Home Shopping Network. You had
to unwind and start up again,” said Sutter.
Her first priority was to restructure
the business and edit the licensees before
they could start to develop and grow.
“It took a couple of years to work
through the past and work through the
businesses that were developed at a dif-
ferent time,” she said.
Sutter knew from Day One that she
wanted to position DVF in the contem-
porary area.
“I went in and explained to Barry
[Diller] and Diane what contemporary
was. It clearly wasn’t as developed as it
is today,” said Sutter. “It was my strat-
egy that we would be the more colorful,
feminine, print-oriented brand against
Theory, which was much more urban
and had a different aesthetic. I totally ad-
mired what Theory was doing and what it
was bringing to that contemporary world,
and I felt we could be in that world and
live alongside brands like that very easily.
WWD.COM
Michael
DVF makes most of its collection in
Herz
China, although it produces some re-
cuts in the U.S.
Since Horowitz joined, the infra-
PHOTO BY MICHAEL BUCKNER/GETTY IMAGES FOR DIANE VON FURSTENBERG
structure of the firm has grown signifi-
cantly. “It’s not so much the amount of
people, but the quality of the people,”
he said. “Our payroll has gone up con-
siderably — we’ve hired some very pro-
fessional people.”
Excluding store personnel, DVF has
added 10 percent to head count and 20
percent to payroll.
Over the past year, the company
has been searching for a ceo and hired
Maxine Martens, of Martens & Heads,
to conduct the search. Horowitz said the
criteria for the new ceo would be a mer-
chant, first and foremost, with global ex-
perience and a strong retail background.
Last year, Paula Sutter, who had served
as president of DVF for 14 years, left the
company and was never replaced.
Sutter was instrumental in the re-
about the latest hot fashion. But that’s branding and growth of the business
not what this brand is about. Sure, we’re over the past decade. In tandem with
fashionable, but it’s all about the brand. the designer, she spearheaded a “second
It’s all about the heritage and core DNA life” for the label, which was best known
of what this brand stands for, which is a for its wrap dress in its Seventies heyday
woman who is confident, ageless.” and launched a comeback in 1998.
He said the DVF woman is “effort- After Sutter left, the company di-
less, sexy and on the go,” that she doesn’t visionalized its business. Previously,
need to have the latest things and is loyal everything funneled through Sutter,
to a designer who fits her lifestyle. and there weren’t specific divisions.
In Horowitz’s view, DVF and Theory Now, retail, licensing and accessories
created the contemporary department are distinct divisions. The London of-
12 years ago. “Bridge became a bad fice is a wholly owned subsidiary and
word,” he said, “and stores were look- is responsible for its own P&L. Prior to
ing to create a new department, with Horowitz’s arrival, it was a sales office
newness and to make it younger, and for accounts in Europe.
contemporary became a buzzword.” Asked if DVF’s business is run dif-
But contemporary is the more so- ferently than Hilfiger’s, he said, “The
phisticated and grown-up version structure is the same.”
of what juniors was years ago: “You Which leads to the question: Can
need to be the flavor of the month, and Horowitz orchestrate the same evolu-
there’s no real brand loyalty. What DVF tion at DVF that he did at Hilfiger?
always had was brand loyalty.” “Does lightning strike more than
While Horowitz acknowledged that once? If you ask Silas and Lawrence,
DVF still has a lot of twentysomething it sure does,” said Horowitz, referring
customers, the woman she appeals to to his former Hilfiger partners’ suc-
is “ageless.” cess with Michael Kors. “I think this
“She can be anywhere from 20 to 60- brand has as big a potential as Tommy
plus,” he said. The sweet spot, he be- or Michael Kors, or I wouldn’t be here.
lieves, is represented by the company’s Diane’s [name recognition] and the ap-
30-year-old model Daria Werbowy, who preciation and love for the brand defi-
has been the face of the brand for the nitely has that potential.”
past three seasons. As for whether the company might
In general, Horowitz believes the go public, Horowitz said, “It’s certainly
customer falls into three distinct a possibility. It’s always the best way to
segments: the go-to-work woman; a realize equity, and it’s important for the
woman who’s a little bit bohemian and people working here to know there’s a
may work as an artist or curator, and pot at the end of the rainbow. If that’s the
a suburban mom who’s more casual. best way to monetize equity, we’ll go pub-
While the emphasis of the company lic. Getting people monetized and giving
continues to be toward dresses, the them ownership is something I believe in
brand is adding more casual pieces, strongly,” he said, but added there’s no
whether in rtw or footwear. timetable on when that might happen.
“It was really the beginning of what I “We had really exciting and talented
think was affordable luxury,” she added. people come through our door.”
“Contemporary was really an alterna- From the start, she said there was a
tive to designer, and that was what I lot of excitement surrounding DVF and
was so compelled by, and what I clearly the brand.
thought was the future.” “I think it had a different aesthetic. It
Von Furstenberg liked the idea, the had international appeal very early on,”
family thought it was a great idea, and she said. “It didn’t have an American
they moved forward in that direction, look, it didn’t have a European look. It
said Sutter. kind of had this global flair.”
“We built the business from scratch, Asked what the highlights of her ten-
hiring new design and sales teams. ure were, Sutter replied, “There were so
It was really the reinvention of a many — too many to mention.” But she
brand. It was the Windex-ing of a great did cite such developments as the open-
brand,” she recalled. ing of DVF’s first store in Manhattan’s
Starting with the wrap dress, which
was the core of the business and is still a
very important part of the brand’s DNA,
Meatpacking District on 12th Street, and
the “Journey of the Dress” exhibition
that took place in Shanghai and Beijing.
the company developed sportswear and Another highlight was the grand opening
segmented into a whole lifestyle brand, and retrospective in São Paulo, Brazil.
said Sutter. “Now they have shoes, and ac- “It was an amazing chapter and we
cessories are being developed,” she said. accomplished more than we could ever
The entire portfolio expanded as the imagine,” Sutter reflected. “I think there
years went on, and the store profile, re- were times that Diane and I would look
tail and licensing all expanded. She also at each other and just be blown away by
noted that she had “an amazing team” the excitement we were creating and the
to develop the business. “Your company energy we were creating.”
is only as good as your talent,” she said. — LISA LOCKWOOD
 i f e !
D ai n e , i g n a t u r e L
d e s o f
r a S r d e c a
y o u f o
i n g f o u
T U R E
T h a n k l e b r a t
E F U
o u i n c e
n d T H c a d e o f
j o i n y
E S S a
i r st d e
W e D R h e f
T H E c e l eb r a t e y ! e t
s w e j o u r n
...a our

x i ne
Ma
an d
T e a m

Search With Imaginat n

Globally
Ten years of passion, people, partnerships, and results.

www.maxinemartens.com
22 WWD MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 8, 2014
SECTION II WWD.COM

WWD MILESTONES On the Ginza

in Tokyo.

A Store Thing
Expanding the retail footprint on all fronts.
By Sharon Edelson
DIANE VON FURSTENBERG is going
after bricks and clicks.
The designer, who is known for her
level of engagement and attention to
detail, signs off on every location, from
downtown Manhattan to Dubai.
The company has an aggressive
growth plan to operate 100 stores in the
U.S. in the next five to six years, open
more international stores and roll out
a new prototype that puts accessories
in the spotlight.
Joel Horowitz, who joined DVF in
York, where von Furstenberg is set
to open a store at Brookfield Place in
lower Manhattan.
“We looked at both projects,” Horowitz
said, referring to the World Trade Center,
“and felt that the ready-to-wear consumer
would shop more in the Brookfield en-
vironment. The World Trade Center is
going to be more of an impulse-buy con-
sumer. Brookfield Place is more of a local
TriBeCa consumer as well as tourists.”
There are other opportunities in New
York. “Certainly Madison Avenue, the

’’ 2012, said he took one look at the com-

pany and determined its biggest growth
opportunity was in retail.
“When I first sat down with the family
to present a plan as to how I envisioned
growing the business, retail was the major
focus,” Horowitz said. “The plan showed
that we could comfortably open 100 stores
in the U.S. in a five-to-six-year period.
From there, we’d grow the business based
on the results of those 100 stores.”
Upper East Side, Upper West Side and
the Flatiron District,” Horowitz said. “We
could have five, six or seven stores in
Manhattan alone. Then there’s Brooklyn.”
With stores in 20 countries beyond
the U.S. — Brazil, Belgium, China,
France, Germany, Greece, Hong Kong,
Indonesia, Japan, Kuwait, Malaysia,
Macau, Singapore, South Korea,
Sweden, Taiwan, Thailand, Turkey, the
United Arab Emirates and the U.K. —

[200 U.S. stores] is not a crazy

number when you look at our price

’’
points and market segment.
— JOEL HOROWITZ, DVF

Horowitz said 200 U.S. stores “is

not a crazy number when you look at
our price points and market segment
and how many stores our competitors
have. Our focus as a company has been
on New York, Florida, California and
Texas. We’re looking and have opened
stores in secondary markets such as
Seattle and Scottsdale [Ariz.]. We’ll be
opening a store in Atlanta soon.”
Von Furstenberg still doesn’t have a
full-price store in Chicago. “Eventually
we’ll open a store in Chicago and all
the major cities, based on getting the
right locations with the right econom-
ics,” Horowitz said.
“Now that we are back on brand,
I want our shops all over the world
to reflect what DVF is,” said von
Furstenberg. “I want them to be a one-
stop shop for the woman on the go to
find effortless confidence and immedi-
ate solutions to look and feel great.”
DVF’s Meatpacking flagship will un-
dergo renovation in January that will
set the tone for the entire fleet. The
store will have new fixturing and a café.
“It’s going to be the home of DVF,”
Horowitz said. The most important
change, however, will be the layout and
the amount of space devoted to acces-
sories. Ready-to-wear will move to the
back of the store and accessories will
be front and center.
“The way we’re laying out our retail
stores is we’re overinvesting on the ac-
cessories side,” Horowitz said. “We know
that to have a successful retail rollout
that’s profitable, accessories has to make
up a significant percentage of total sales.”
A measure of the importance of acces-
sories is the fact that 40 to 50 percent of
the store will be given over to the category.
“As of now, sales are nowhere near that
percentage,” Horowitz reported. “Our goal
is to get accessories to be 50 percent of
sales. It will take three to four years to get
there. Today, the classification accounts
for a little over 10 percent of sales.”
There’s another activity in New
Accessories in the spotlight in Shanghai; windows in Istanbul.
the company’s biggest global growth is
in China. The designer has 47 stores in
Asia, including 15 units in China. Four
additional stores are set to open in
China by the end of the year.
“We’re well represented in Asia,
in Japan, Korea, China and all of
Southeast Asia,” Horowitz said. “In the
next four years, we’ll have as many as
40 stores in China.”
Eight stores will open in Korea this
year and eight to 10 are planned for
next year. Japan has 12 locations; there
are two each in Taiwan and Singapore;
four in Hong Kong, with a fifth set to
bow in Harbour City.
“I see growth throughout all of
Southeast Asia,” Horowitz said. “In
Macau, we have two stores and we’re
bursting at the seams. We’ll open a
third store next year.”
DVF stores are partnerships or joint
ventures in most of the world, including
the Middle East, where the company has
units in Abu Dhabi and Dubai and con-
tinues to look at different opportunities.
France is the only country where DVF
operates company-owned stores; two are
in Paris and one is in Saint-Tropez.
“We have a partnership in the U.K.
with Tom Chapman for four stores in
Mayfair, Notting Hill and Wimbledon
in London and an outlet at Bicester
Village in Bicester. We see a lot of
growth opportunity in the U.K., as well
as throughout the Continent,” Horowitz
said. “The focus for our own resources
is for U.S. growth. Once we dominate in
the U.S., we’ll move on to other territo-
ries using our own capital.”
Beyond physical locations, however,
e-commerce is DVF’s single biggest door.
“When I got to the company, e-com-
merce was independent of retail so it
had a separate buying team,” Horowitz
said. “There wasn’t a strong consisten-
cy for e-commerce versus the customer
experience in the stores. We want to
make that experience as seamless as
possible. Now, all buying is centralized
under one umbrella.”
The Web site recently got a face-lift.
“We just updated the home page and
the World of DVF,” which includes news
and blogs from style editor Jessica Joffe
and DVF herself. There are also up-
dates on the Wrap 40 initiative, the 40th-
anniversary celebration of the wrap
dress, which is being sent around the
world and worn by “It” girls.
“We’re going to continue to upgrade
the content,” said Eran Cohen, chief
marketing officer. “We’re starting Diane’s
Diary, so Diane will be writing weekly or
biweekly. The World of DVF is really ev-
erything that surrounds us and the brand.
“Diane is really happy with where
we’re going,” Cohen said. “She is involved
with everything that happens in this com-
pany — mobile, social, product marketing,
retail, sales associates and windows. Her
vision and eye and attention are here.”
The company will continue to up-
date other pieces of the Web site.
“We think the redesign reflects the
brand. It’s not too complex. We feel like
the message is clear.”
DVF operates four Web sites globally
from a single platform for the U.S., U.K.,
Europe and a world site. “The sites
work for different country currencies
and markup structures,” Cohen said.
“We’re sensitive to our international
partners. Today, the bulk of our online
business is done in North America.”
Cohen added that DVF’s customers
are citizens of the world. “Our global
consumer isn’t limited by geography.
A lot of our customers in Europe are
Asian and a large percentage of our
customers in New York are Brazilian.
We don’t think about the country they
come from, but as a group of consum-
ers, we think about what they like.”
The company is always looking
at new technology, he noted: “We’re
deciding what we’ll test and what we’ll
engage with. Diane loves technology. A
lot of people come knocking on our doors
because Diane is a known innovator and
is known to take risks and try something
new. That makes it exciting for us.”
HAPPY
ANNIVERSARY,
DIANE VON
FURSTENBERG.
Fashion speaks louder than words.
Your wrap dress—forever perfect.
24 WWD MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 8, 2014
SECTION II
WWD MILESTONES
Tech-Savvy Style
DVF demonstrates a keen understanding of the power of the digital space. By Rachel Strugatz
SINCE THE INCEPTION of her compa-
ny, Diane von Furstenberg has been an
expert on communicating the message of
her brand. And with the advent of social
media and exponential growth of digital
technology, the company has maintained
its position as one of the more tech-savvy
brands in the fashion space.
Most notably, the designer’s spring
2013 runway was the launching pad for
Google Glass, in September 2012. Last
June, the brand partnered with Net-
a-porter on a collection of optical and
sunglass frames, DVF Made for Glass.
The e-tailer was the first Web site (be-
sides Google) to sell Glass, in the form
of a $1,700 prepackaged bundle — com-
prising Glass, a DVF optical frame and
a sunglass style in varying colorways.
Last year, DVF became the first
in a series of designers to work with
the Council of Fashion Designers of
America and Google on a shoppable ex-
perience that allowed users to purchase
from a Google+ Hangouts on Air app.
“Everything in the company has her
[Diane’s] involvement, and she’s no less
engaged in social [media],” Eran Cohen,
DVF chief marketing and direct-to-con-
sumer officer, said. “You see her posting
selfies before she’s going to the Met Ball
or getting her nails done. They are real
photos. They aren’t retouched and de-
veloped — these are genuine.”
The brand is active on myriad so-
cial networks, including Facebook,
Google+, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube,
Pinterest and Tumblr, as well as Asia-
based platforms like Sina Weibo,
WeChat, Youku, Tudou and Douban
(the brand will start to use Korea’s
Naver this fall). Diane von Furstenberg
reached 2 million followers this sum-
mer on Sina Weibo, the Chinese micro-
blogging service similar to Twitter.
It’s even taken a localized approach
on Twitter — at the store and market level
(handles exist such as DVFNewYork,
DVFSouthCoast and DVFIndonesia)
— and posts on Facebook are geo-tar-
geted in countries including Belgium,
Indonesia, Korea and Thailand.
According to Cohen, two social
media teams — one that works on exe-
cution and one that concentrates more
on strategy — manage the brand’s digi-
tal presence. There is also a dedicated
team for World of DVF, a blog that von
Furstenberg will again begin to con-
tribute to biweekly (she has penned
content for the blog in the past).
Blogger Chiara Ferragni
of The Blonde Salad is
an influencer in the
“Journey of a Dress”
online series.
A dress worn by the Duchess
of Cambridge in April became
one of the most searched
items on dvf.com and other
sites, and sold out after being
posted on social media.
WWD.COM
Google
Glass on
the DVF
runway in
September
2012.
Google’s Sergey Brin and Diane von Furstenberg at the
spring 2013 show introducing Google Glass.
The brand started rolling out its digi-
tal-centric 40th anniversary in February
with “Journey of a Dress,” a series docu-
mented via social media of different in-
fluencers around the world wearing von
Furstenberg’s New Jeanne Two wrap
dress in a black-and-white chain-link
print. Coco Rocha kicked off the program,
and Emma Roberts, Jourdan Dunn and
10 bloggers worldwide — from Chiara
Ferragni of The Blonde Salad to Jessica
Stein of Tuula Vintage — also docu-
mented their “wrap story” on their social
media channels, dvf.com and YouTube.
“Journey of a Dress” will run through
November, and to date, the associated
hashtag has seen more than 25,000 shares.
Von Furstenberg wanted fans to get
involved, too. Hundreds of customers
worldwide submitted personal wrap
dress stories via “Tell Us Your Wrap
Story” at dvfwrapstory.com.
“Like everybody, we have core plat-
forms and then ones that we are pres-
ent on but are not as prolific as oth-
ers,” Cohen said, noting that overall,
Instagram probably sees the most en-
gagement. “The world is enamored with
Instagram, people engage visually.”
In an interview with WWD last
spring, von Furstenberg said, “It has
to be organic; you can’t strategize
Instagram months in advance. It’s called
Instagram — it has the word ‘insta’ in it.”
But social media is more than just a
brand awareness tool, Cohen explained,
emphasizing the “extra impact” an
image can have if it goes viral in the
social space. For example, when Kate
BRIN PHOTO BY GREG KESSLER; RUNWAY BY GIOVANNI GIANNONI; COHEN BY GEORGE CHINSEE; DUCHESS BY PHIL NOBLE/WPA POOL/GETTY IMAGES
Middleton was shot wearing an ikat
print dress while in Australia in April,
in the course of hours, it became one of
the most searched items on dvf.com as
well as on partner sites.
“It sold out in an instant,” Cohen
said of the dress, adding that the brand
itself didn’t post the image on social
media. “It had an enormous impact
on sales of that dress, as well as other
items in that same print.”
Eran
Cohen
26 WWD MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 8, 2014
SECTION II
WWD MILESTONES
The Future Has Bling
Accessories will play a significant role in the growth of the company. By Lauren McCarthy
AS DVF HEADS INTO its fifth
decade, the company is bank-
ing on accessories — and it
has big plans to make them a
powerhouse category.
“Accessories are ex-
tremely important,” said Joel
Horowitz, the company’s co-
chairman. “When I came to
the company two years ago, I
presented a business plan that
called for significant invest-
ment in the accessory busi-
ness of what we would do in-
ternally, as well as licensing.”
Horowitz estimated that,
upon his arrival, accessories
made up less than 10 percent
of overall sales. Today, that
number has risen to 15 per-
cent, and it continues to grow.
“The plan calls for it to be
almost 50 percent of the total
business in a five-year period,”
said Horowitz. “Accessories are
a significant part of our future.”
Handbags and footwear
are expected to be the driv-
ing factors; the categories are
tied for biggest sales-genera-
tors among the brand’s acces-
sories offerings.
Handbags
are handled
in-house.
“They will probably remain
fairly equal in size [in terms
of sales] because I think they
have equal importance,” said
Horowitz. “However, if you
include small leather goods
in the handbag category, then
that would outrank footwear.”
In the coming seasons,
footwear will receive a major
push, with new offerings in
the casual market.
“Up until spring 2015, we’ve
been 80 percent, if not more,
focused on evening,” said
Horowitz. “The whole world —
not just in footwear — has been
moving to a more casual look.
So, a big expansion for us will
be on the casual-footwear side
of the business. For spring, the
collection will be [split] 50-50
between casual and dress.
Footwear is a license, and it’s
Home fabrics from Kravet and an area rug from The Rug Co.
such an extension of the ready-
to-wear that we already do. I
would like to get it to the point
where we are selling, at least
in our own stores, a couple of
pairs of shoes for every dress.”
Handbags are, notably,
the only accessory category
DVF handles in-house. For
all others, the brand enlists
outside help from a number
of licensees: Haskell Jewels
(costume jewelry), Herman
Kay (outerwear), Schwartz &
Benjamin (footwear), Randa
(luggage), Kravet (home fab-
rics), Marchon (eyewear), H.
Stern (fine jewelry) and The
Rug Co. (hand-woven rugs).
“There are a few reasons
to do something with a license
versus in-house,” explained
Horowitz. “First, [it’s about]
who is the best to design,
produce and execute the
business. When you look
internally at what your
core competencies are, you
have to be realistic from a
personnel standpoint, an
expertise standpoint and a
financial standpoint. When
it came to handbags, we felt
it was something we want-
ed to control internally. We
were able to have the rela-
tionships from sourcing and
creative standpoints. That
became the natural product
expansion for us to focus on
internally. Footwear is much
more specialized. It’s a much
more complicated business.
There are many more sku’s.”
Barbara Schwartz, direc-
tor of product development
at Schwartz & Benjamin, de-
scribed DVF shoes as “comfort-
able, affordable and on trend.”
“One thing Diane always says
is, she loves her legs but counts
on her feet, so she loves work-
ing with us on shoes,” Schwartz
said. “The shoes are very much
like her key phrase: sexy, effort-
less and on-the-go.”
Marchon’s senior vice presi-
dent of global marketing, Mark
Ginsberg, attributed DVF’s
success in eyewear to the
designer’s wide appeal.
“It is trans-gen-
erational, attract-
ing women from
18 to 80,” he said.
“The DVF woman
is successful, independent,
feminine and fearless — all
attributes that are easy to
identify with.”
Haskell Jewels, which pro-
duces DVF costume jewelry,
is the latest addition to the li-
censee roster, with initial prod-
uct due out for spring. The cat-
egory, according to Horowitz,
was a no-brainer for the brand.
“Any category that we go into
has to be a natural extension of
what the brand stands for,” he
said. “Diane has one of the most
extensive jewelry collections
in the world, and we have this
long relationship with H. Stern
for fine jewelry, so it just made
sense to do a fashion jewelry
line that’s more affordable for
most consumers out there. It
also gets more product of ours
onto the main floor in depart-
ment stores, which gets you
more of an entry-level custom-
er, which you can then move to
other categories, such as ready-
to-wear or handbags. The fash-
ion jewelry just expands your
consumer base.”
Horowitz noted that while
fine jewelry is not a signifi-
cant contributor to over-
all sales, the category
remains important
to the company.
Stiletto from
Schwartz &
Benjamin.
Spring sunglasses
from Marchon.
“It is so well-placed for the
brand,” he explained. “Just a
couple of weeks ago, they sold
a $98,000 bracelet. When you
get items like that sell and
have such a waterfall effect on
the whole brand, it does very
nicely. It will never be a big per-
centage of the business, but, as
an add-on to the brand, it fits
in perfectly for what the brand
stands for.”
Synergy between DVF rtw
and accessories remains a
constant driving factor, es-
pecially when it comes to
future expansion.
“The most important
question that you have to
ask is: Is the brand legiti-
mate to be in that product
category to begin with?”
said Horowitz. “You don’t want
to put your name on different
products just because you have
a brand name that people like.
You can sell virtually anything
with a good name, but you want
it to be legitimate to the brand. I
wouldn’t go into men’s neckwear
tomorrow. We could probably sell
a lot of DVF printed ties, but
men’s wear is not something
that is on our radar.”
Beyond the products
themselves, DVF plans
to ramp up the acces-
sories business by
investing more in
marketing and pub-
lic exposure. “We
will add accessories
to national advertis-
ing,” said Horowitz.
“We have been fea-
turing handbags, and
we will be including
footwear as we move
forward, as well as
other licensed prod-
ucts, like jewelry.
WWD.COM
Necklace and cuff (below) from
the upcoming costume jewelry
launch with Haskell Jewels.
There will
also be a much
bigger effort online
with digital marketing, where
we can focus on special catego-
ries of business, which you don’t
tend to do in national ads.”
DVF accessories are
sold in retailers including
Bloomingdale’s, Neiman
Marcus and Saks Fifth Avenue.
“DVF accessories convey
the whimsical and sophis-
ticated appeal the brand is
so well-known for in ready-
to-wear,” said Erica Russo,
Bloomingdale’s operating vice
president of fashion direction,
fashion accessories. “[The
DVF customer] is a worldly,
fashion-forward female who
identifies with the cultured
lifestyle that Diane lives per-
sonally and inspires us [to
live] through her designs.”
To illustrate just how seri-
ous the company is about build-
ing the accessories business,
Horowitz points to recent chang-
es within DVF’s own stores.
“One of the major invest-
ments that we’re making in
all of our stores is the square
footage dedicated toward ac-
cessories,” he said. “While ac-
cessories is now 15 percent of
our overall sales, we’re allocat-
ing approximately 40 percent of
square footage in our stores to
accessories because we believe
that, in order to build the busi-
ness, we have to do it ourselves.
To show that we’re a real play-
er in the space, we have to
do the investment ourselves.
Therefore, we’re allocating a
disproportionate amount of
square footage to the size of
the business today, but, even-
tually, that is our goal. I want
accessories to be 50 percent of
our revenue.”
 CONGRATS!
DIANE VON FÜRSTENBERG
Cheers to 40 fabulous years of your iconic wrap dress
that forever changed the world of fashion.
28 WWD MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 8, 2014
SECTION II
WWD MILESTONES
On the Divan With Diane
Diane von Furstenberg has racked up friends all over the globe. With myriad interests
and pursuits, she is the quintessential conversationalist. At least, that’s what her
friends and colleagues say — so WWD asked about their impressions and what they
like to talk about when they have some face time with the lady.
“One of the things I love about DVF is French politics because I’ve inter-
that there’s nothing you can’t talk to her viewed a lot of French politicians and
about. She is engaged with the world I had an apartment there for 10 years.
around her in a way few others are. She has an apartment there. She’s
She’s been everywhere, knows everyone, much more French than I am. We have
and is interested in everything. History, a lot of friends [whom] we share from
politics, world events, technology, love, France, whether they be writers, in film
life, music, art — nothing is off-limits.” or businesspeople — people I’ve known
— Anderson Cooper because of my interest as a journalist.
“I obviously don’t know anything about
“Of Diane, I admire the verve, the posi- fashion, so we don’t talk about fashion
tivity and the irreverent spirit — [charac- much. We talk a little about building a
teristics] that are reflected in her fashion. business. I’ve watched her build a busi-
Although very different from me, we both ness and her business acumen. We talk a
believe in emancipation, from opposite bit about people that we know and share
corners and with opposite results but the enjoyment of their company and
with the same conviction and the same their success. I’m working so hard with
passion. Her wrap dress is part of history: four shows now that I don’t see her as
It sums up the lightheartedness of an era much as I would like to, and I wish I had
but has become a timeless classic.” more time to....I simply love her. She’s an
— Giorgio Armani amazing woman.” — Charlie Rose
“When we get together, we always speak “I know Diane since she first arrived
about two things: children and grand- in New York, and we have a friendship
children. Diane has always had a clear that, I am lucky to say, has lasted with
vision in life. That’s why she has been no blemish ever since. I admire her
such a success in everything she does.” capacity for endless love, integrity and
— Carolina Herrera loyalty. She has lived a full life without
ever compromising her goals. To me,
“We go back a long way and we share a she is the best example of a life fully
lot of memories, so, when we talk, it’s lived. I am so lucky she is my friend!”
very intimate, personal and cozy, our — Oscar de la Renta
conversations. We share our feelings, our
struggles, what we’re doing. We laugh a “Diane is a fascinating woman who leads
lot about lots of things. She has a great a fascinating life. I love just listening to
sense of humor about life, and I do, too.” her, learning from her. Her take on things
— Marisa Berenson is so positive that she gives me more
hope than I normally have. She is very
“Because fear is not an option in DVF’s strong and opinionated, and I love hear-
world, she is great to talk to when you ing her opinions. They come from a place
want to gain confidence and support. I of knowledge and deep understanding.
like to discuss projects and ideas with She’s the best person to go to for advice,
her. She will always believe in you and somehow managing to combine the prac-
make things happen. She likes to help to tical and the profound. We talk a lot about
make your dream come true and would family, about what it means to be a wife
have no time to spare for complaints or and mother. I don’t think we’ve ever had
why it is not possible. I also like to talk a conversation about fashion...there’s too
with her about any woman’s issue be- much else to talk about!” — Ellen Barkin
cause she thinks out of the box and is a
free spirit. A great role model that [helps] “Diane von Furstenberg has contrib-
you remember how powerful a woman is.’ uted to the fashion industry in so many
— Anh Duong important ways and, in doing so, has be-
come an icon, inspiring so many others,
“She has an interest in the world she including me. Her unique creative vision,
lives in and all the factors that affect her steadfast commitment to helping the
it. She’s fascinated by people, how they industry prosper and her actions on be-
are and the way they are. She’s a wit- half of female empowerment are all hall-
ness to excellence....I talk to her about marks of an incredible career.”
everything, but we often talk about — Frida Giannini, Gucci
With Andy Warhols on the wall.
FOR PHOTOS OF DIANE WITH
SOME FAMOUS FACES, SEE
WWD.com/eye.
“Diane is such a remarkable and interest-
ing woman — I have never met anyone so
driven. I have great respect and admira-
tion for her accomplishments, both in her
own career and in what she has done to
expand the influence of the CFDA.”
— Francisco Costa, Calvin Klein Collection
“DVF is one of the most fun people to
talk to because she’s a globe-trotter, in-
terested in everything, who knows and
sees everybody — so there’s nothing I
don’t like to talk to her about.”
— Andy Cohen
“My relationship with Diane started
while I was applying for the Vogue
CFDA Fashion Fund. From the moment
she came into my CFDA incubator stu-
dio and sat on a broken chair to when we
reenacted ‘The Graduate’ for a Harper’s
Bazaar story to when she came to Nepal
to visit my family and I and over the
course of many a lunch and cups of cof-
fee, we have had so many wonderful con-
versations. We talk about anything from
professional career decisions and paths
I come across to personal relationships.
We discuss steps to spirituality, our love
for hiking, trekking and our shared love
for exotic lands. We have talked about
everything under the sun and always
with absolute passion.”
— Prabal Gurung
A PRESIDENTIAL EXCHANGE: Diane von
Furstenberg of the CFDA e-mailed Didier
Grumbach of the Chambre Syndicale in
June 2012, upon both of them being
reelected at their respective organizations:
DVF:
Congrats on your re-election!
I just got re-elected too!
What can you do? Either we’re the best
or nobody wants these duties!
Have a good summer…
Love
Diane
DG:
Dear Diane,
Thank you and bravo.
We are relentless.
See you soon,
All the best,
Didier
WWD.COM
“I love getting to work with Diane. We
are both very involved with the High
Line and with everything that happens
in the neighborhood around it, so we
are usually talking about what might
be good for the community. It could be
about a business or nonprofit initiative
in the neighborhood that needs our
help or about an event we’re working
on together or about a piece of mer-
chandise Diane is designing to sell in
our High Line shop. I’ve learned so
much from her. When she expresses an
opinion, it sounds like poetry to me.”
— Joshua David, cofounder and
president of Friends of the High Line
“Meeting Diane was a crucial moment in
my life. Her energy, strength, confidence,
humor, elegance and ever-young spirit
are contagious. Her first biography was
such an inspiring read, I was hooked.
She taught how life is not only a straight
line — mistakes happen or, simply, some-
times things don’t go how you thought
they would [or] should. But you show who
you truly are exactly in those moments. I
absolutely can’t wait to read the new one.
Life with her is such a fun ride!”
— Elisa Sednaoui, model-actress
“With her style, Diane von Furstenberg
has represented the emancipation of
women without renouncing glamour.
She herself personifies the values of
her style and is an iconic figure of the
fashion world. Thinking of her, there
are images in our memories of New
York’s Factory, parties at Studio 54,
the fun and freedom of that moment,
which, with her fashion, she has re-
counted and continues to recount.”
— Maria Grazia Chiuri and Pierpaolo
Piccioli, Valentino creative directors
“She has been a dear friend for years,
but my perception is objective. She used
to buy my jerseys in great quantities, and
I would travel to New York to see her. I
have followed her design and entrepre-
neurial trajectory with great admiration.
She has left a significant mark in the
world of entrepreneurial associations
and done noteworthy things. Often, good
entrepreneurs are the worst examples of
managers of associations, but she excels
at both. In my role, I have had problems
with others but never had any difficulty
in finding an accord with her. I can only
speak highly of her. She is an excellent
communicator, and she is a well-round-
ed, fully comprehensive person.”
— Mario Boselli, president of the Camera
Nazionale della Moda Italiana
“Diane is an extraordinary person. She is
totally individual in spirit and thought.”
— Erdem Moralioglu
“She is the brother I never had, a per-
fect mix of sex, strength and sensibility.
We talk about anything — love, passion,
hate — never about fashion.”
— François Catroux, interior decorator
“She likes to discuss everything, but
she’s not very much into small talk.
Diane loves to talk about her family,
French news, politics, her hair, travels
and all new books. With me, she is very
European, and she always stays on top
of what’s going on in France. New tech-
nologies fascinate Diane, [as does] all
that has to do with women and women’s
rights and, above all, travels — no lux-
ury, but cultural travels, focused on ar-
tisanship and people. She also loves to
discuss and rediscuss her friends — and
that never stops.” — Christian Louboutin
“Diane is one of the very few people
in the world with whom I can share my
PHOTO BY JOHN SCIULLI
deepest fears and concerns, and who
is going to always understand me and
give me the best advice.”
— Natalia Vodianova, model-philanthropist
 ATTORNEYS AT LAW

Congratulations to
Diane von Furstenberg
on the 40th Anniversary of
her iconic wrap dress from
Steven Gursky and all
of us at Olshan.

PARK AVENUE TOWER 65 EAST 55 TH STREET NEW YORK, NY 10022

WWW.OLSHANLAW.COM
30 WWD MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 8, 2014
SECTION II
WWD MILESTONES
Queen D
FAMILY IS A WORD Diane von
Furstenberg uses quite frequently
when she talks about the Council of
Fashion Designers of America, where
she’s had an eight-year run as presi-
dent that was just extended by another
two-year term.
For her, family as a theme applies
personally as well as professionally.
Remembering her journey to the apex
of the American fashion community,
she recalled, “I had sold my company,
had gone to Paris and come back. I re-
alized that my business, my fashion, my
brand was so much a part of my identity
and losing it was really painful.”
Residing once more in New York,
where she had made a name for her-
self in the Seventies, she received a
phone call from Stan Herman.
“He asked me to join the board,”
she said. “I felt like such a loser and
an outsider that when they asked me to
join the board, it made me feel good. It
made me feel like I belonged.”
The fashion family warmly welcomed
her back, and not only honored her with
’’
a Lifetime Achievement Award after her
successful comeback, but also put her
on the committee to find the next presi-
dent to succeed Herman.
“I think the fact that I became presi-
dent and I said I wanted to make it like
a family, is because I had that feeling of
belonging to it,” von Furstenberg said.
She spearheaded much change in
the American industry since taking up
the role — the list of accomplishments
is extensive.
During her tenure, the designer
significantly grew the CFDA member-
ship — which, at the start of 2006 was
271 and is now at 478 — with not just
designers but also creative directors of
brands, including contemporary ones.
She focused on important indus-
try issues such as the need to protect
original design and fight counterfeits,
and supporting young talent in tan-
dem with Anna Wintour via the CFDA/
Vogue Fashion Fund.
Von Furstenberg also upped the or-
ganization’s networking potential by
launching the Strategic Partnership
Group in 2007. Elsewhere, she
worked with the Mayor’s office on the
Fashion Incubator program, as well
as the Culture Shed that is part of the
Hudson Yards Redevelopment Project
and could one day be a home for New
York Fashion Week.
“The truth is we cannot just have one
place [to host fashion shows],” she said.
The CFDA is also looking to
strengthen the overall New York
Fashion Week brand as an umbrella for
the various facets from Mercedes-Benz
Fashion Week to Made, a collection of
shows at and around Milk Studios.
Most recently, the CFDA acquired
the Fashion Calendar, a move that
aims to streamline the scheduling of
fashion shows and events in New York,
which, with more than 350 shows a sea-
son, has become quite challenging for
those involved.
Initially, she said, her goals includ-
ed making the CFDA “a family, and I
wanted the membership to be a little
younger,” von Furstenberg said. “I also
wanted the world out there to be able to
associate with it, which is why we cre-
ated the Strategic Partnership Group.
Finding a way to grow and nurture the CFDA
and its members. By Marc Karimzadeh
As president of the Council of Fashion Designers
of America, Diane von Furstenberg has revamped
and significantly grown the organization.
When they asked me to join
the board, it made me feel good.
It made me feel like I belonged.
— DIANE VON FURSTENBERG
“It’s changed so much for young de-
signers,” she added. “It was 9/11, and
out of 9/11, Anna [Wintour] decided to
do something and created the CFDA/
Vogue Fashion Fund. That was a revolu-
tion for the fashion industry. Everybody
has been so generous. Although we
compete with one another, there is a
camaraderie and a loving spirit, and we
are all about helping each other.”
The sentiment was also key to
Fashion’s Night Out, the shopping
event that, in the U.S., was a collabora-
tion between the CFDA, Vogue, NYC &
Co. and the City of New York.
Promoting education is another key
part of von Furstenberg’s tenure, work-
ing with domestic and international
schools, as is the push to stimulate do-
mestic manufacturing via the Fashion
Manufacturing Initiative.
For models, the emphasis on more
diversity on the runway and the Health
Initiative have been at the core of von
Furstenberg’s philosophy at the CFDA.
Before each collections season, for
example, she sends out a letter to the
industry that serves to reinforce guide-
lines, which range from a minimum
model age of 16, to not allowing models
under 18 to work past midnight, to sup-
plying healthy meals, snacks and water
backstage and at shoots, as well as fit-
ness and nutrition education.
As for diversity, the CFDA Founders
Award given to Bethann Hardison, a
champion of diversity in fashion, un-
derscored the organization’s commit-
ment to the issue.
“When Tracy Reese suggested we
do something for Bethann [at the board
meeting], we all looked at each other
like we were idiots. ‘Yeah, of course.’”
As Reese put it, “No door is closed to
Diane. If she has an idea or we have a
dream that might seem too high for most
’’
mortals, she has no fear. People sense that
about her in the loveliest, friendliest way.”
She added, chuckling, “They are
happy to ride along — in her beautiful
green Bentley. She is our role model.
She greets you with a hug and a kiss and
is very personable. She brings you in.
That takes a lot, especially in our indus-
try because a lot of us have walls up, but
she doesn’t. She says whatever is on her
mind — and she has earned that right.”
Ralph Lauren lauded her “legendary
and ongoing” contribution to fashion.
“But never one to sit back, she has fur-
ther inspired us with eight years of her
energetic leadership of the CFDA,” he
said. “This unselfish commitment to pre-
serve and grow the prestige of American
fashion is characteristic of Diane’s per-
sonal integrity and determined spirit.”
Steven Kolb, the CFDA’s chief exec-
utive officer, cited many attributes that
make von Furstenberg’s leadership
role at the CFDA so unique.
“She is a business person and work-
ing designer and understood the global
fashion community, all of which added
a lot of validity to her experiences and
how she could contribute to the orga-
nization and its members,” Kolb said.
“My favorite story was right in the be-
ginning [of her tenure], when she said
that she can scream to the Italians
in Italian, and beg to the French in
French. She has done that in the eight
years she has been president.
“So many companies come to Diane
to do something with her and she sees
the value, the merit in it, but if it’s not
on brand for her, she comes to me,” he
added. “When it’s not right for her, it’s
often right for the CFDA.”
The two also have their fun. During
the interview, von Furstenberg made a
point that Kolb learned how to dress
once he joined the CFDA.
WWD.COM
“I mean, he knew nothing about
fashion other than being gay,” is how
she put it.
Reed Krakoff described von
Furstenberg as a “force of nature,
someone with incredible energy. She is
able bring together people from every
different world that fashion exists in,
from politics to the arts, design, archi-
tecture and the film industry. Her reach
is so broad and holistic that she is able
to make incredible things happen.”
Added Michael Kors: “With her leg-
endary Diane-ness, she has brought a
whole new spotlight on the CFDA over
the last eight years. At her core, Diane
is a nurturer — she not only recognizes
young talent, she embraces it. She goes
out of her way to foster creativity and
to help others, and the network she’s
created within the CFDA reflects that.”
Tommy Hilfiger cited her fearless-
ness and “enormous heart. She really
cares about the other designers, wheth-
er they are competitors, young design-
ers coming up, established designers or
designers who are trying to stay afloat.
She has a wide network of incredible re-
lationships and friends. Her charisma,
personality and motivation are enor-
mous and the board meetings are fun.”
In fact, when asked about von
Furstenberg’s management style at
CFDA meetings — often wildly entertain-
ing while also getting the job done — the
common reaction is “no comment,” fol-
lowed, when pressed, by some off-the-
record tale about an amusing exchange
between the president and a designer,
or a remark by von Furstenberg that is so
over-the-top, it can’t be printed.
“She likes to boss me around some-
what,” Vera Wang said. “She says, ‘Sit
down, Vera, sit down here.’”
Recalling lunches at the DVF offic-
es, where the CFDA board would meet
before relocating to Bleecker Street, “I
would get myself a plate and the food
was always so insane that I would get
up and sometimes get a second round,”
Wang said. “The year I was nominated
for the Lifetime Achievement Award,
Diane said, ‘Sit down, you’re gonna
like this meeting.’ I said, ‘OK, ma’am,’
and I sat down. At the end of the meet-
ing, Diane said, ‘And for the Lifetime
Achievement Award, it’s you.’ That’s
how Diane is. She cuts to the chase. I
think she is hysterically funny, yet she
is on the ball and very dedicated.”
Rag & Bone’s Marcus Wainwright
said her contributions have been
“massive,” and she was able to
achieve so much because of her stat-
ure, her own fashion and her person-
ality. “She is larger than life,” he said.
“She also makes it fun. Sometimes,
being on something like [the CFDA
board] could be a bit of a chore but
I actually quite look forward to it
because she is priceless. She comes
out with phenomenal quotes, there
is just an endless stream of amazing
comments. I don’t think I could repeat
half of them. She is so irreverent.”
But, he stressed, “She has galva-
nized the industry in an incredible
way. Everyone loves her. Everyone
wants to be part of the CFDA because
she is president. Everyone loves com-
ing to the board meetings and being
involved, because we all feel lucky to
be a part of the CFDA these days. It’s
nearly impossible to think of someone
to replace her. That’s how good she is.”
For her part, von Furstenberg has
not lost any of the joy in governing the
disparate crew that is the American
PHOTO BY ALEXANDER PORTER/BFANYC.COM
designer community.
“It’s fun also because you can make a
difference,” she said. “I get a lot of pub-
licity around the world. Wherever you
see the initials DVF, there is the wrap
dress, and now there is the CFDA.”
Von Furstenberg has a clear idea of
what she wants her CFDA legacy to be:
“That I was a great mother.”
32 WWD MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 8, 2014
SECTION II
WWD MILESTONES
Along Life’s Journey
Diane von Furstenberg shares some of her
private side. By Rosemary Feitelberg
PERIPATETIC AS HER LIFE may be,
Diane von Furstenberg recently took some
time to run through what goes on before,
after and in between all that work.
WWD: When your family is with you,
what do you like to do with them?
Where might the conversation go? Do
they often ask for advice?
Diane von Furstenberg: My family and I
love to travel and to be outdoors…we
love to hike. We will go on the boat or
on an adventure, or we relax at home
in Connecticut. I have always treated
my children like adults and have been
completely honest with them.…I think
honesty is so important. A lot of people
ask me for advice, but I am often asking
my family for advice…my husband and
both of my children are on the board of
my company. I trust their judgement im-
mensely and it has been such a privilege
to see both of my children become such
wonderful parents. I am very proud of
my children and grandchildren.
WWD: When you manage to break away
from work on a weekend afternoon,
what might we find you doing? What is
your ideal day?
D.V.F.: If I am not traveling, I usually go
home to Connecticut, where I like to
hike or just read in my studio. We have a
converted barn that is separate from the
house where I go to unwind and find clar-
ity. I can spend hours in there, reading
and watching films…my ideal day in the
city begins with a bath, I try to meditate
though I am not very good at it, I have
breakfast, and I like to start every day
by sending an e-mail that helps someone
Clockwise from top left: Portraits of von Furstenberg by Andy Warhol (1984), Li Songsong
(2011) and Francesco Clemente (1999).
else, maybe it is making an introduction,
or just sending a nice note, something
that does not benefit me at all. Then I’ll
have a few meetings, I practice yoga, and
maybe I have a friend for dinner or go out
to a party.…I like to finish the evening
reading and catching up on e-mails.
WWD: In which room do you tend to
spend the most amount of time?
D.V.F.: My office, because I work there
and I have meetings there. I have
friends for lunch and dinner there, and
my studio in Connecticut, where I tend
to reconnect with myself.
WWD: What are some of your favorite
pieces of art? When you look at ones
that were personal gifts, are you taken
by the art or reminded of the person?
D.V.F.: Oh, so much of my art is so person-
al that it is difficult to choose favorites,
but I love the masters like Rembrandt,
Goya, Botticelli. My spring collection
is inspired by Matisse and Picasso, but
I also love my contemporaries, [Andy]
Warhol, [Francesco] Clemente, Damien
Hirst, [Andreas] Gursky. And I appreci-
ate the art that I own as art, of course,
but I am always reminded of the artist,
which is what makes it so special.
WWD: What makes an artist exceptional?
D.V.F.: Emotion, emotion…a point of
view…a different way of seeing…a
strong sense of who they are and what
they are trying to express.
WWD: What might people be surprised
to learn about you? Do you have many
hidden talents?
The apple orchard at Cloudwalk, the von
Furstenberg estate; Diane’s green Bentley.
D.V.F.: Well, I tend to be an open book! It
is not the most exciting or juicy detail,
but maybe they would be surprised that
I waste a lot of time playing solitaire and
Scrabble on my iPad…no, I think because
I am always telling women to be confi-
dent and to be the woman they want to be,
people tend to be surprised when I admit
that I have moments of doubts and inse-
curity. We all do. The idea is to recognize
when it happens and move past it…
WWD: For a casual dinner with friends,
what type of meal, flowers, music and
decor do you prefer?
D.V.F.: Whatever is most effortless. I like
simple, healthy and delicious food so
that the focus is on the company. My
chef, Jane, is fabulous and she has
mastered the art of ease, which is so
important. For flowers, I love large
blooms like peonies and a lot of color,
but nothing too structured or forced.
The same goes for music and decor…
everything should reflect who you are.
WWD: Contradictory as this might
sound, which of your homes do you feel
the most at home in and why?
D.V.F.: Really, I am a nomad and I feel
very comfortable everywhere. I never
sleep in the same place more than a few
nights in a row. But if I had to choose
one place, I would say my home in
Connecticut, Cloudwalk. I bought it for
myself on my 27th birthday and for a
long time it was my source of sanity. It
was such a wonderful escape and the
perfect place to raise my children. Now,
it is where I go to find myself and to find
clarity, to be with family, to slow down,
all of those things. I knew the second I
saw it, that for me it would be that place.
WWD: How do you like to celebrate your
birthdays? Your anniversaries?
D.V.F.: My birthday is New Year’s Eve,
so there is always a celebration. We are
usually traveling with family and we
celebrate wherever we are. Because it
is the last day of the year, I like to take
inventory and write my New Year’s
resolutions. My anniversary is Barry’s
birthday, so it is more about him than
us. I guess every day is our anniversary!
WWD: What have been your three favor-
ite trips?
D.V.F.: A trip driving through
Uzbekistan, my week hiking in Bhutan,
sailing around the world on my boat
EOS — those are my favorite trips!
WWD: What is your favorite belonging?
Family heirloom? Article of clothing?
Mode of transportation? Is there any-
thing you can’t live without?
D.V.F.: My good luck charm is a coin my
father gave me from the war. I tape it to
the bottom of my shoe for every fashion
show. My favorite articles of clothing are
the cotton kurtas I sleep in. My favorite
mode of transportation is walking. And I
couldn’t live without my family.
WWD: How did you decide on the color
of your car?
D.V.F.: Because to me my car represents
going home to Connecticut, I have al-
ways chose the color green. Green for
the trees and the grass!
WWD: At the end of an exhausting or
difficult day, how do you find relief?
D.V.F.: I think of all of the things I am
grateful for…my family, my health, my
business, my friends…and I try to focus
on that and breathe.
WWD: Had you not gone into fashion,
what type of job would you have done?
D.V.F.: I think I would have loved to be a
director, but now my daughter [Tatiana]
is the filmmaker in the family.
WWD: Which author do you most relate
to? What books changed the way you
look at life?
D.V.F.: Stefan Zweig, [Leo] Tolstoy, Orhan
Pamuk.…I love to read biographies.
WWD: Who do you consider to be the
three most influential women in your
life? In the world?
D.V.F.: My mother was very influen-
tial in my life. She was strong and
she taught me to be independent, to
be willing to take risks, and those
lessons have been so important in
my life. Gloria Steinem and Diana
Vreeland [had] a huge influence on
my life as a young woman. And to
me, the most influential women in
the world are those who take the
time to empower other women…
investing in women is one of the
most powerful ways to transform the
world. I have met so many women
through Vital Voices and the DVF
Awards, amazing women who are
quietly changing the world and bet-
tering the lives of others.
BENTLEY PHOTO BY JOHN PARRA/WIREIMAGE; WARHOL PORTRAIT COURTESY OF THE ANDY WARHOL FOUNDATION
WWD: What do you think of bucket lists?
If you have one, what is near the top?
D.V.F.: That is a difficult one…many,
many projects.
WWD: What’s the best part about living
in New York? The worst?
D.V.F.: The energy — New York is full of
possibility. It always feels as if anything
could happen and that is so exciting to
me. The worst is that it can be hard to
slow down and find clarity.
WWD:: What are your words to live by?
D.V.F.: “Fear is not an option.” And of
course, “Love is life!”
WWD: If the adage that “you are only
truly yourself when no one else is
near” is true, what scenario might best
describe you?
D.V.F.: I think that being true to yourself
is the most important thing. The most
important relationship is the one you
have with yourself. Everything else fol-
lows from that.
34 WWD MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 8, 2014
SECTION II
WWD MILESTONES
The Empower Hour
Philanthropy is an integral part of the designer’s culture. By Kristi Garced
DIANE VON FURSTENBERG has often said that
she owes her own freedom and independence to the
wrap dress, which made her a household name 40
years ago, and she’s positioned philanthropy — par-
ticularly women’s empowerment — among her top
passions ever since.
“I think she feels as though she is a woman who
has made it beyond what her wildest dreams were,”
said Alyse Nelson, president and chief executive of-
ficer of Vital Voices, the Washington, D.C.-based non-
governmental organization that trains and empow-
ers emerging female leaders around the world. Von
Furstenberg has been a board member of Vital Voices
since the early Aughts, when she started donating a
percentage of sales from her store on International
Women’s Day to the organization — and still does.
“She looks around and wants to give back,” Nelson
added. “But she doesn’t just want to write a check. She
wants to get personally involved in women’s lives.”
In 1999, von Furstenberg founded the Diller-von
Furstenberg Family Foundation with her husband,
Barry Diller, and her children from her first marriage
to Egon von Furstenberg, Alexander and Tatiana. The
private foundation provides philanthropic support
to nonprofit groups in arts, education, human rights
and the environment. “All of us have different causes
— mine tend to be around women and girls,” von
Furstenberg said.
One of the events the Diller-von Furstenberg
Family Foundation underwrites is the annual DVF
Awards, which heighten exposure to individuals
who work on women’s causes and provides grants of
$50,000 to further their efforts. The event saw its fifth
installment last April, honoring Alicia Keys, Gloria
Steinem and three others — two of whom were chosen
from the Vital Voices global network of women. Past
honorees include Hillary Rodham Clinton, Oprah
Winfrey, Elizabeth Smart and Natalia Vodianova.
“There are so many women doing amazing things,
so it is very difficult to narrow the field [to five women
each year],” von Furstenberg said.
Many of the honorees, like Sunitha Krishnan, ac-
tivist and cofounder of Prajwala who was honored in
2013, are former victims of sex trafficking and abuse,
violence or other hardships.
“She turns them into survivors,” said Nelson.
“One of the things [Diane] says that I love is that she’s
never met a woman who isn’t strong. Sometimes that
strength is being pushed down [if a woman] is in an
abusive relationship or difficult financial situation,
but when that strength is tested, it comes out.”
Von Furstenberg has also been involved in several
charity initiatives in her role as president of the CFDA
since 2009: most notably Fashion for Haiti, Fashion for
Sandy, Fashion Targets Breast Cancer, Seventh on Sale
benefitting AIDS and HIV research and the organiza-
tion’s health initiative for models.
“What she’s demonstrated since she’s been presi-
dent is the organization’s response to disasters,” Steven
Kolb, ceo of the CFDA, explained. “She was organizing
very quickly to get the industry behind a collective ef-
fort [for Haiti], and [likewise] with Hurricane Sandy
here. She sees the human element and she responds
very much to how those disasters impact people. But
WWD.COM
PHOTO BY JOE SCHILDHORN/BFANYC.COM
Front row, from left: Panmela Castro, Chouchou
Namegabe, Jaycee Dugard, Oprah Winfrey and Layli
Miller-Muro. Back row: Diane Sawyer, Maria Bartiromo,
Jessica Alba, Tina Brown, Diane von Furstenberg and
Debra Winger at the 2012 DVF Awards.
she also understands the power of the fashion industry
and the message that it can send to the world.”
The Fashion for Haiti campaign donated $1
million to the Clinton Bush Haiti fund, while the
Fashion for Sandy Relief initiative raised $1.7 mil-
lion for the Mayor’s Fund to Advance New York City
and other relief organizations.
Another cause dear to von Furstenberg’s heart is
the cultural enrichment of the Meatpacking District.
“It is where I live and work and it has always been
so welcoming to me,” she said of the neighborhood. In
2011, the Diller-von Furstenberg foundation gifted a re-
cord $20 million to the High Line — ultimately helping
to finish the project — amounting to a total pledge of $35
million over the years. To honor the foundation and the
family, Friends of the High Line renamed its headquar-
ters the Diller-von Furstenberg Building.
Von Furstenberg is also a board member of the
Culture Shed at Hudson Yards, a cultural center slat-
ed to open in 2018 that’s said to be the future home of
New York Fashion Week.
“Where she goes, people will follow,” said Nelson.
“She’s got a voice that carries weight with a different
kind of audience. She’s made these issues cool to a
whole new generation of men and women.”
40
HERMAN KAY

Congratulates DVF on

years

of the wrap dress!

 Congratulations on
40 years of the DVF wrap

Congratulations DVF

40
on

YEARS
of exceptional fashion and its impact on the industry
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 Congratulates

DIANE VON FURSTENBERG

ON 40 YEARS OF THE WRAP DRESS
and is proud to present

AVAILABLE OCTOBER 28TH

SIMON & SCHUSTER

congratulates

DIANE VON FURSTENBERG

ON 40 YEARS OF THE WRAP DRESS
and the publication of

the
WOMAN
I WANTED
to be

AVAILABLE OCTOBER 28TH

CONGRATULATIONS MADAM PRESIDENT!
CHEERS TO THE NEXT 40 YEARS!
FROM YOUR FAMILY