Diane von Furstenberg - Paperback

by Gioia Diliberto (Author)

A sweeping biography of one of the most influential and controversial legends of late twentieth-century fashion, an iconic designer whose colorful creations, including the "wrap dress," captured the modern feminist spirit.

The daughter of a Holocaust survivor and wife of an Austrian nobleman, Diane von Furstenberg burst onto New York's fashion scene in 1969, and within a few years became an international sensation with her colorful wrap dress in printed jersey. Embraced by millions of American women of all ages, sizes, and shapes, the dress became a cult object and symbol of women's liberation, tied inexorably to the image of youth, independence, and sex Diane herself projected.

In this masterful biography, Gioia Diliberto brings Diane's extraordinary life into focus, from her post-World-War-II childhood in Belgium, through her rise to the top of the fashion world during the decadent seventies and glamorous go-go eighties, to her humiliating failures both professional and personal, and her remarkable comeback in the nineties. Like Coco Chanel, Diane has always been her own best advertisement. Morphing from a frizzy brunette outsider in a sea of sleek blondes to a stunning pop cultural icon, she embodied the brand she created--"the DVF woman," a model of self-sufficiency, sensuality, and confidence.

Diliberto's captivating, balanced portrait, based on scores of interviews with Diane's family, friends, lovers, employees, and the designer herself, explores von Furstenberg's relationships with her husbands and lovers, and illuminates fashion's evolution from rare luxury to marketing monster and the development of a uniquely American style. Lively and insightful, the book also explores the larger world of the nation's elite, where fashion, culture, society, politics, and Hollywood collide. Diane von Furstenberg is a modern fable of self-invention, fame, wealth, failure, and success that mirrors late-twentieth century America itself.

Front Jacket

Diane von Furstenberg is a sweeping biography of one of the most influential and controversial legends of New York fashion--the iconic designer whose creations captured the modern feminist spirit. Gioia Diliberto brings von Furstenberg's extraordinary life into focus, from her post--World War II childhood in Belgium, through her rise to the top of the fashion world in the decadent seventies, to her humiliating failures both professional and personal, and her remarkable comeback in the nineties.

Drawing on interviews with DVF's family, friends, lovers, employees, and the designer herself, Diliberto creates a captivating portrait of a pop culture heroine, one who played a key role in the development of American style at a time when fashion was evolving from rare luxury to marketing monster. Diliberto also offers a look into the rarified world of the nation's elite--an exclusive club where fashion, culture, society, politics, and Hollywood collide. Lively and insightful, Diane von Furstenberg is a modern fable of self-invention, fame, wealth, failure, and success, pulled together with the style and assuredness of a DVF dress.

Back Jacket

Diane von Furstenberg is a sweeping biography of one of the most influential and controversial legends of New York fashion--the iconic designer whose creations captured the modern feminist spirit. Gioia Diliberto brings von Furstenberg's extraordinary life into focus, from her post--World War II childhood in Belgium, through her rise to the top of the fashion world in the decadent seventies, to her humiliating failures both professional and personal, and her remarkable comeback in the nineties.

Drawing on interviews with DVF's family, friends, lovers, employees, and the designer herself, Diliberto creates a captivating portrait of a pop culture heroine, one who played a key role in the development of American style at a time when fashion was evolving from rare luxury to marketing monster. Diliberto also offers a look into the rarified world of the nation's elite--an exclusive club where fashion, culture, society, politics, and Hollywood collide. Lively and insightful, Diane von Furstenberg is a modern fable of self-invention, fame, wealth, failure, and success, pulled together with the style and assuredness of a DVF dress.