Diane Von Furstenberg: married into the German princely House of Fürstenberg thus becoming Her Serene Highness Princess Diane of Fürstenberg, before divorcing her prince and starting her own fashion label. And that’s just for starters.
Her eponymous wrap dress was dreamt up in 1974 with American Vogue editor Diana Vreeland declaring her designs ‘absolutely smashing.’ By 1976 she was producing 20,000 rayon and cotton jersey dresses….per week.
“Simplicity and sexiness, that’s what people want,” the designer told Vogue. “At a price that’s not outrageous.”
After the success of the wrap dress, Furstenberg was featured on the cover of Newsweek magazine in 1976. The accompanying article declared her “the most marketable woman since Coco Chanel.” The New York Times reported that by 1979 the annual retail sales for the company were $150 million.
Her label lives on today, available in more than 70 countries and now offering accessories and shoes like these ‘Eva2’ silver heels. I’m not sure why they’ve added a ‘2’ to the name as they’re simply the silver version of the black, but none the less I think they’re just gorgeous.
I visited the DVF Flagship store while in New York a couple of years ago, right on the Hight Line in the Meatpacking district. In search of a wrap dress, there’s plenty of them in the world I thought, and while it would be marvellous to own a brand new one, my love of vintage took over and I found my version at the Chelsea Antique Garage.
Now to pair them with these babies – a match made in fashionable heaven!
