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Edita reports | Meeting Diane Von Furstenberg

Edita attends DvF event at VandA 1Edita attends DvF event at VandA 2Edita attends DvF event at VandA 3Edita attends DvF event at VandA 4Edita attends DvF event at VandAEdita attends DvF event at VandA 5Edita attends DvF event at VandA 6

“I’ve never known what I wanted to do but I’ve always known the kind of woman I wanted to be.”
Diane von Furstenberg

Success is when a complicated surname rolls off the tongue around the world without any problems. That is how I define success. And success is how you define DvF.
Diane is a designer who simplified fashion. She took a step back and thought about the three pillars she wanted her designs to achieve. These were:
– To be demure enough to go and see your boyfriend’s mum
– To be sexy enough to turn heads
– To be a flattering and simple go to piece, any day, every day

All of these put together seem pretty difficult to achieve. But perfection is often in simplicity and that’s what Diane reminded us of with the legendary wrap dress.

Speaking to us at the V&A, Diane came across as a witty, no-nonsense business woman who has been through it all. And yet her humour and sarcasm made her look so youthful. I remember one of my best friends saying that people with a strong personality seem taller in real life. Diane’s personality made her eighteen forever and at least six one. She just had that all encompassing energy where she could wrap her arms around you just by speaking to you. A true mentor, a true achiever.

I asked Diane what her advice was on dealing with let downs and failure. I figured the message would be extremely strong coming from a fashion icon. It was. She told me that she was yet to meet a woman who wasn’t strong. According to Diane, in the times of catastrophes or incredibly difficult times it is the women who stand up and carve the way for the better. She firmly said that she had one policy when it came to failure – learning from it, gaining strength from it. And who can argue? Nay. Who dares to?

Journey of a Dress isn’t really a book about choosing fabrics and prints. At first glance it well may be, but if you look deeper it is about the journey of DVF as a designer and as a woman. The dress is almost a by-product of Diane’s experience, of her life, personality and most of all femininity. It is her autoportret.

Andy Warhol may have painted her twice, but it was her who conceptualised her own autoportret which she was, is and will be most famed for. The wrap dress.

“Feel like a woman – wear a dress.”

Thank you to the V&A for having me.

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32 Responses

  1. The snakeskin print maxi dress shown on the mannequin is incredible and what an opportunity this must have been to meet her! The quotation you’ve mentioned of hers in this post is so inspiring and has been a favourite of mine for a little while now 🙂 Hope your week is going well so far!

    http://aglassofice.blogspot.co.uk

    x

  2. Wonderful event! She is one of my most favourite designers and a woman I truly admire. Her latest book is on my Christmas wish list and I am really looking forward to reading it. x

  3. Diane von Furstenberg has got lovely collection of dresses. I didn’t know much about her personal life but from the interview with her, I find her very likeable and I love her mantra in life.

    Thank you for comment on my blog a while back. I’m glad it has led me to yours. Hope to see you around more often.

    Jo
    Jo’s Jumbled Jardinière

  4. You are so lucky to have met my idol! I love her dresses as I have several of them. She is my favourite designer because her designs are minimalist, with a retro touch and just so beautiful. Just the way I like to dress 🙂

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