Diane von Furstenberg is ready to be done with fashion after more than 45 years in the industry, but being an icon isn’t enough for the powerhouse — she wants to be an ‘oracle.’
The 71-year-old designer, who is best known for her iconic wrap dress, launched her business in 1972. After an illustrious career filled with both highs and lows, she is looking to move on and start her ‘third act.’
‘I don’t want to do another color palette,’ she told the Washington Post. ‘I’ve had three acts. The first was the American Dream, the young girl coming to New York, the wrap dress, blah, blah, blah.
Third act: Diane von Furstenberg, 71, is ready to leave fashion after four decades, but she wants to create a legacy that will last long before she is gone
Lasting fashion: The designer (pictured in 1973) is best known for her iconic jersey wrap dress
‘The second: I started over,’ she continued. ‘Now, I’ve been thinking, now is the time for the third act. How do I turn this into a legacy, so the legacy will last after me?’
Diane, who married and divorced German prince Egon von Furstenberg at the start of her fashion career, was already famous when she debuted her jersey wrap dress in 1974, but the frock turned her into an iconic figure and gave her the financial independence she was looking for.
‘I became an icon. Now I want to be an oracle,’ she said of her goal for the future.
Diane wants to use her knowledge and experience to help guide younger leaders; however, that doesn’t meant aging is always easy for her.
‘Aging is a big deal. I pretend that I think aging is wonderful. And it is. [Yet] I wake up in the morning and say, “I’ve changed.” I’ve lived so fully. I should be 140,’ she said.
Next step: ‘I became an icon. Now I want to be an oracle,’ she said of her goal for the future
Future: Diane, who is planning her ‘third act,’ said she would like to focus more on philanthropy
Do-gooder: Diane has been involved in a wide range of causes over the years, including human rights, community building, and environmentalism.
The icon has worried about premature death since she was a young mother, but she admitted that she is thinking about her mortality even more now that she is older.
‘When you get to my age, it’s serious,’ she said. ‘When you get to be 70, then it hits. You’re closer to the end.’
Although she wants to leave the fashion industry and have her third act be about ‘fulfillment,’ she’s not sure what to do with her business. She has considered selling it or taking on an investor, but it’s still unclear how she will extricate herself from the brand she has become synonymous with.
Diane hired Scottish designer Jonathan Saunders as chief creative office of her brand in 2016. Although she seemed to be taking a step back while he was in charge, Jonathan resigned in December 2017, telling her the brand ‘is so much about you.’
In January, Diane brought back designer Nathan Jenden, who helped reinvigorate her DVF when he started working from her in 2001, not long after he finished fashion school.
Trying to step back: Diane hired designer Jonathan Saunders (center) as chief creative office of her brand in 2016, but he resigned in December 2017
Team: In January, Diane brought back designer Nathan Jenden, who worked for her brand in the early 2000s. They are pictured on the runway together in 2007
Heavenly: Nathan designed the ethereal gowns Diane and her granddaughters Talita von Furstenberg (left) and Antonia Steinberg (right) wore to the Met Gala last month
Next generation: Talita, 19, is the brand’s ambassador and Nathan’s ‘muse.’ Diane’s granddaughter plans on working for her company in the future
In 2011, Nathan left the brand to start his own eponymous line, which his former boss helped finance. Although he has mostly stayed behind the scenes following his departure from DVF, he was most recently the creative director of the mall brand Bebe.
For the Met Gala last month, Nathan created Diane’s pale blue gown, which he painted with celestial clouds to keep with the night’s theme: Heavenly Bodies: Fashion and the Catholic Imagination.
He dressed Diane’s granddaughter Antonia Steinberg in an off-the-shoulder, cardinal red gown, but he went all out when designing the frock worn by his ‘muse,’ Diane’s 19-year-old granddaughter Talita von Furstenberg.
Talita, who serves as the brand’s ambassador, wowed in a pale blue ruffled dress adorned with studded with 48,000 Swarovski crystals.
Although it’s unclear what Diane will do with her business, it was said that Talita will definitely work for the company in the future.
On her mind: ‘When you get to my age, it’s serious,’ she said of her mortality. ‘When you get to be 70, then it hits. You’re closer to the end’
Achievement: Diane was honored with the Swarovski Award for Positive Change at the Council of Fashion Designers of America gala on Monday
In addition to her work in fashion, Diane has been involved in a wide range of causes over the years, including human rights, community building, and environmentalism. After she leaves fashion, she’d like to focus more on philanthropy.
She and her husband, Barry Diller, created the The Diller-von Furstenberg Family Foundation in 1999. The fund supports initiatives such as Friends of the High Line, the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, and the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures.
The organization also sponsors the DVF Awards, which recognizes and supports female leaders from around the world.
Diane has chaired the Council of Fashion Designers of America since 2006, and she was honored with the Swarovski Award for Positive Change at its annual gala at the Brooklyn Museum on Monday.
‘I was completely taken by surprise when they announced that I was being honored. I was kind of embarrassed because I’m a chairperson and I’m giving myself an award,’ she told designer and activist Ariela Suster during an interview with Vogue.