Diane von Fürstenberg
Encyclopedia
Diane von Fürstenberg, formerly Princess Diane of Fürstenberg , (born December 31, 1946) is a Belgian-American fashion designer best known for her iconic wrap dress. She initially rose to prominence when she married into the German princely House of Fürstenberg, as the wife of Prince Egon of Fürstenberg
. Following their divorce in 1972, she has continued to use his family name, although she is no longer entitled to use the title princess following her divorce and subsequent remarriage in 2001.
, Belgium
. Her father was Romanian
-born Leon (Lipa) Halfin, who immigrated to Belgium
from Chişinău
(then Bessarabia
province of Romania
and now the capital of Moldova
) in 1929. Her mother was Greek
-born Liliane Nahmias, a Holocaust survivor. She studied economics
at the University of Geneva
in Switzerland
.
, the elder son of a German
prince and his first wife, an heiress to the Fiat
automotive fortune. Married in 1969, the couple had two children, Prince Alexander (born six months after their wedding) and Princess Tatiana
, who were born in New York City
. She is now the grandmother of three children. The Fürstenbergs' marriage, though not popular with the groom's family because of the bride's Jewish ethnicity, was considered dynastic, and on her marriage Diane became Princess Diane of Fürstenberg, but is no longer entitled to use the title following her divorce and then her remarriage in 2001.
In 2001, she married American media mogul Barry Diller
, with whom she had been involved, off and on, since the 1970s. In 2002, she became a naturalized U.S. citizen.
.
In 1985 she moved to Paris, France where she founded Salvy, a French-language publishing house. Fürstenberg has started a number of other businesses including a line of cosmetics and a home-shopping business which she started in 1991.
In 2005, the Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA) awarded her a lifetime achievement award and the following year named her as their president. She also designed a Sidekick with T-Mobile. In 2008, she appeared as a judge on several episodes of Project Runway
.
Professionally and personally, she uses von
with her surname instead of the usual zu
used by the House of Fürstenberg (the latter term is rarely encountered outside of Europe). As her advertising campaigns and company letterhead indicate, she also prefers to spell her surname with no umlaut
. Earlier in her career however, until the late 1990s, her company's labels included either an umlaut or a squiggle in its place.
In 2009, a large scale retrospective
exhibition entitled "Diane von Furstenberg: Journey of a Dress" opened at the Manezh, one of Moscow's largest public exhibition spaces. The show was curated by Andre Leon Talley
and attracted a lot of media attention.
In 2010, She also appeared as a judge on an episode of America's Next Top Model, Cycle 15
— (Diane von Furstenberg), which aired on September 15, 2010.
Also in 2010, Diane von Furstenberg was award a Gold Medal at the annual Queen Sofia Spanish Institute
Gold Medal Gala.
In 2010, Diane created The DVF Awards, which are presented annually to four women who display leadership, strength, and courage in their commitment to women’s causes. Supported by The Diller – von Furstenberg Family Foundation, recipients are each granted $50,000 to further their work.
In 2011, The Diller – von Furstenberg Family Foundation made a $20 million commitment to the High Line, which is the largest single private contribution to a public park in New York City’s history. The Diller – von Furstenberg family has donated a total of $35 million to the High Line to date.
Diane von Furstenberg sits on the board of Vital Voices
, a women’s leadership organization that empowers emerging women leaders and social entrepreneurs around the world. Diane is also an honorary director of the Housatonic Valley Association.
's 1981 song "Working Girl
".
Renowned for its iconic wrap dress and signature prints, DVF has grown the global luxury lifestyle brand into what it is today with a complete collection of ready-to-wear, swim, accessories, footwear and handbags. Inspired by DVF signature prints, these new covers are both functional and fashionable.
Von Fürstenberg served as an inspiration for Andy Warhol, Julian Opie, Chuck Close, and many others and has been the subject of a number of artistic renderings.
Egon von Fürstenberg
Egon von Fürstenberg or Prince Egon of Fürstenberg was a fashion designer.- Family :Eduard Egon Peter Paul Giovanni Prinz zu Fürstenberg was the elder son of Prince Tassilo zu Fürstenberg and his first wife, Clara Agnelli , a sister of Fiat's chairman, Gianni Agnelli. His stepmother was the Texas...
. Following their divorce in 1972, she has continued to use his family name, although she is no longer entitled to use the title princess following her divorce and subsequent remarriage in 2001.
Early years
Diane Simone Michelle Halfin was born in BrusselsBrussels
Brussels , officially the Brussels Region or Brussels-Capital Region , is the capital of Belgium and the de facto capital of the European Union...
, Belgium
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
. Her father was Romanian
Romanians
The Romanians are an ethnic group native to Romania, who speak Romanian; they are the majority inhabitants of Romania....
-born Leon (Lipa) Halfin, who immigrated to Belgium
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
from Chişinău
Chisinau
Chișinău is the capital and largest municipality of Moldova. It is also its main industrial and commercial centre and is located in the middle of the country, on the river Bîc...
(then Bessarabia
Bessarabia
Bessarabia is a historical term for the geographic region in Eastern Europe bounded by the Dniester River on the east and the Prut River on the west....
province of Romania
Greater Romania
The Greater Romania generally refers to the territory of Romania in the years between the First World War and the Second World War, the largest geographical extent of Romania up to that time and its largest peacetime extent ever ; more precisely, it refers to the territory of the Kingdom of...
and now the capital of Moldova
Moldova
Moldova , officially the Republic of Moldova is a landlocked state in Eastern Europe, located between Romania to the West and Ukraine to the North, East and South. It declared itself an independent state with the same boundaries as the preceding Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic in 1991, as part...
) in 1929. Her mother was Greek
Greece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
-born Liliane Nahmias, a Holocaust survivor. She studied economics
Economics
Economics is the social science that analyzes the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services. The term economics comes from the Ancient Greek from + , hence "rules of the house"...
at the University of Geneva
University of Geneva
The University of Geneva is a public research university located in Geneva, Switzerland.It was founded in 1559 by John Calvin, as a theological seminary and law school. It remained focused on theology until the 17th century, when it became a center for Enlightenment scholarship. In 1873, it...
in Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
.
Marriages
At university, when she was 18, she met Prince Egon of FürstenbergEgon von Fürstenberg
Egon von Fürstenberg or Prince Egon of Fürstenberg was a fashion designer.- Family :Eduard Egon Peter Paul Giovanni Prinz zu Fürstenberg was the elder son of Prince Tassilo zu Fürstenberg and his first wife, Clara Agnelli , a sister of Fiat's chairman, Gianni Agnelli. His stepmother was the Texas...
, the elder son of a German
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
prince and his first wife, an heiress to the Fiat
Fiat
FIAT, an acronym for Fabbrica Italiana Automobili Torino , is an Italian automobile manufacturer, engine manufacturer, financial, and industrial group based in Turin in the Italian region of Piedmont. Fiat was founded in 1899 by a group of investors including Giovanni Agnelli...
automotive fortune. Married in 1969, the couple had two children, Prince Alexander (born six months after their wedding) and Princess Tatiana
Tatiana von Fürstenberg
Tatiana Desirée Prinzessin zu Fürstenberg or Princess Tatiana Desirée zu Fürstenberg ) is an American rock singer and filmmaker - and daughter of fashion designers Diane and Egon von Fürstenberg-External links:...
, who were born in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. She is now the grandmother of three children. The Fürstenbergs' marriage, though not popular with the groom's family because of the bride's Jewish ethnicity, was considered dynastic, and on her marriage Diane became Princess Diane of Fürstenberg, but is no longer entitled to use the title following her divorce and then her remarriage in 2001.
In 2001, she married American media mogul Barry Diller
Barry Diller
Barry Charles Diller is the Chairman and Senior Executive of IAC/InterActiveCorp and the media executive responsible for the creation of Fox Broadcasting Company and USA Broadcasting.-Early life:...
, with whom she had been involved, off and on, since the 1970s. In 2002, she became a naturalized U.S. citizen.
Career
In 1970, with a $30,000 investment, she began designing women's clothes - "The minute I knew I was about to be Egon's wife, I decided to have a career. I wanted to be someone of my own, and not just a plain little girl who got married beyond her desserts." (Her former husband also became a fashion designer in 1974.) She is best known for introducing the knitted jersey "wrap dress" in 1973, an example of which, due to its influence on women's fashion, is in the collection of the Costume Institute of the Metropolitan Museum of ArtMetropolitan Museum of Art
The Metropolitan Museum of Art is a renowned art museum in New York City. Its permanent collection contains more than two million works, divided into nineteen curatorial departments. The main building, located on the eastern edge of Central Park along Manhattan's Museum Mile, is one of the...
.
In 1985 she moved to Paris, France where she founded Salvy, a French-language publishing house. Fürstenberg has started a number of other businesses including a line of cosmetics and a home-shopping business which she started in 1991.
In 2005, the Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA) awarded her a lifetime achievement award and the following year named her as their president. She also designed a Sidekick with T-Mobile. In 2008, she appeared as a judge on several episodes of Project Runway
Project Runway
Project Runway is an American reality television series on Lifetime Television, previously on the Bravo network, which focuses on fashion design and is hosted by model Heidi Klum. The contestants compete with each other to create the best clothes and are restricted in time, materials and theme...
.
Professionally and personally, she uses von
Von
In German, von is a preposition which approximately means of or from.When it is used as a part of a German family name, it is usually a nobiliary particle, like the French, Spanish and Portuguese "de". At certain times and places, it has been illegal for anyone who was not a member of the nobility...
with her surname instead of the usual zu
Zu
-Fiction:* Zu, a mountain featured in the film Zu Warriors from the Magic Mountain* ZU, a "furry" anthology published by MU Press* En Zu, a character from the manga series Stray Little Devil* Zu, a large birdlike monster from the Final Fantasy series...
used by the House of Fürstenberg (the latter term is rarely encountered outside of Europe). As her advertising campaigns and company letterhead indicate, she also prefers to spell her surname with no umlaut
Umlaut (diacritic)
The diaeresis and the umlaut are diacritics that consist of two dots placed over a letter, most commonly a vowel. When that letter is an i or a j, the diacritic replaces the tittle: ï....
. Earlier in her career however, until the late 1990s, her company's labels included either an umlaut or a squiggle in its place.
In 2009, a large scale retrospective
Retrospective
Retrospective generally means to take a look back at events that already have taken place. For example, the term is used in medicine, describing a look back at a patient's medical history or lifestyle.-Music:...
exhibition entitled "Diane von Furstenberg: Journey of a Dress" opened at the Manezh, one of Moscow's largest public exhibition spaces. The show was curated by Andre Leon Talley
André Leon Talley
André Leon Talley is the former American editor-at-large for Vogue magazine, listed as Contributing Editor in the April 2010 masthead. Talley has been a front-row regular at fashion shows in New York, Paris, London and Milan for more than 25 years...
and attracted a lot of media attention.
In 2010, She also appeared as a judge on an episode of America's Next Top Model, Cycle 15
America's Next Top Model, Cycle 15
America's Next Top Model, Cycle 15 is the fifteenth cycle of America's Next Top Model and the ninth season to be aired on The CW network. It premiered on September 8, 2010...
— (Diane von Furstenberg), which aired on September 15, 2010.
Also in 2010, Diane von Furstenberg was award a Gold Medal at the annual Queen Sofia Spanish Institute
Queen Sofia Spanish Institute
The Queen Sofía Spanish Institute is an organization in New York City founded to promote the Spanish language and the culture of Spain. It is located on 684 Park Avenue in the former Oliver D. Filley House.- History :...
Gold Medal Gala.
Philanthropy
Diane von Furstenberg is a Director of The Diller – von Furstenberg Family Foundation, a private foundation that provides philanthropic support to 501(c)3 non-profit organizations within the following sectors: Community Building, Education, Human Rights, Arts, Health and the Environment.In 2010, Diane created The DVF Awards, which are presented annually to four women who display leadership, strength, and courage in their commitment to women’s causes. Supported by The Diller – von Furstenberg Family Foundation, recipients are each granted $50,000 to further their work.
In 2011, The Diller – von Furstenberg Family Foundation made a $20 million commitment to the High Line, which is the largest single private contribution to a public park in New York City’s history. The Diller – von Furstenberg family has donated a total of $35 million to the High Line to date.
Diane von Furstenberg sits on the board of Vital Voices
Vital Voices
Vital Voices Global Partnership is an international, non-profit, non-governmental organization that works with women leaders in the areas of economic empowerment, women's political participation, and human rights. The organization is headquartered in Washington, D.C..-History:The nonprofit Vital...
, a women’s leadership organization that empowers emerging women leaders and social entrepreneurs around the world. Diane is also an honorary director of the Housatonic Valley Association.
Pop culture
Von Fürstenberg is referenced in Dolly PartonDolly Parton
Dolly Rebecca Parton is an American singer-songwriter, author, multi-instrumentalist, actress and philanthropist, best known for her work in country music. Dolly Parton has appeared in movies like 9 to 5, The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas, Steel Magnolias and Straight Talk...
's 1981 song "Working Girl
9 to 5 and Odd Jobs
Allmusic rated 9 to 5 and Odd Jobs four-and-a-half out of five stars. William Ruhlmann, who reviewed the album, stated that "most of Parton's albums are hard to recommend", but that "[the songs are] enough to put it a notch above most of Parton's RCA catalog." Critic Robert Christgau rated the...
".
Renowned for its iconic wrap dress and signature prints, DVF has grown the global luxury lifestyle brand into what it is today with a complete collection of ready-to-wear, swim, accessories, footwear and handbags. Inspired by DVF signature prints, these new covers are both functional and fashionable.
Von Fürstenberg served as an inspiration for Andy Warhol, Julian Opie, Chuck Close, and many others and has been the subject of a number of artistic renderings.