A royal engagement

Well-dressed Bangkokians had a chance to meet fashion royalty last week when Diane von Furstenberg – once a real-life princess and now on Time’s list of 100 influential figures and Forbes’ 68th most powerful woman in the world – was in town to open a DVF store at the EmQuartier mall. And she had the help of Thai royalty too, with Her Royal Highness Princess Bajrakitiyabha presiding at the well-attended event.

The New Yorker for whom “Love is life” is a personal mantra greeted fans warmly at Central Chidlom, which has been selling her lines since 2011, before putting on a spectacular fashion show of DVF’s autumn collection, “Seduction”.

DVF was founded in 1972 and two years later bestowed on the world one of those “it” dresses that come along only once every few generations. To Furstenberg it’s “that little dress”, but the jersey wrap with its signature prints became iconic and certified her golden reputation in the industry.

DVF now offers a full range of ready-to-wear clothes and accessories in more than 55 countries, at 1,500 points of sale, including 116 DVF-owned and partnered stores on every continent.

The story of how she came this far is shared with charming frankness in her 2014 autobiography, “The Woman I Wanted to Be”, which has become a “must-read” even for Thais, especially those who are just starting out in the fashion business.

Born in Brussels in 1946, the daughter of a Holocaust survivor, she became a princess when she married the German prince Eduard Egon of Furstenberg. The marriage was love’s triumph over prejudice, since Diane is Jewish, and it produced two children, but it came to an end after three decades, and in 2001 she married the American media mogul Barry Diller.

Furstenberg has long enjoyed wealth and always shared it generously. Among other activities she is a director of Vital Voices, which distributes grants to empower women, and runs the Diller-von Furstenberg Family Foundation, which backs groups working in housing, rights, the environment and the arts and each year bequeaths DVF Awards to remarkable women. In 2005 Furstenberg received the Council of Fashion Designers of America’s Lifetime Achievement Award, and then became its president, an office she still holds.

Reading her book will invariably make her clothes all the more appealing for Thais – not least the fact that she first came here as a 19-year-old and dined with Jim Thompson, the ill-fated “king of silk”. It also set the tone for an extraordinary interview given exclusively to The Nation.

 

WHAT WAS THE KEY TO THE SUCCESS OF THE WRAP DRESS THAT’S BECOME SUCH AN ALL-TIME FAVOURITE?

You know it’s been 42 years since that came out! It’s not something I ever thought would happen. It was just one of those things. I had an exhibition in Los Angeles two years ago, and that’s really when I realised myself how special it was and what an impact it’s had, not just on me but for all generations of women. But the dress is flattering, comfortable, practical – and sexy in a way that’s not vulgar, like the wrapped Chinese qipao I design. It’s just so practical!

 

WHAT ABOUT THE PRINTS YOU CHOOSE TO EMBELLISH THE OUTFITS?

What’s special about my prints is that they always move. A DVF print has the same organic movement that you find in nature, in animal skin.

 

WILL THERE BE A MODERN VERSION TO YOUR FAMOUS BOHEMIAN LOOK?

My next pre-fall collection is very Bohemian. I like Bohemian. I like anything that’s flattering to a woman, that’s feminine, fun, easy and fluid. I don’t know what the “modern look” of Bohemian is. 

It’s very interesting. I start working in the 1970s. I was young and the ’70s was one of those decades that were somehow always full of great inspiration. There are two decades like that – the ’30s and the ’70 – when the architecture, the design, the furniture and everything changed.

YOU’VE BEEN AT THE FOREFRONT OF THE FASHION INDUSTRY FOR SUCH A LONG TIME – WHAT’S YOUR BIGGEST CHALLENGE IN THE FUTURE?

The challenge for all of world fashion is that, first of all, it’s become completely global and sells on the Internet. And, with the social media, everybody is a fashion reporter these days, so you have a lot of competition. The industry will have to adapt and learn how to stay powerful. Where the advertising money goes – all of that must change.

 

AND WHAT’S THE FUTURE DIRECTION OF DVF?

I always say that we have three periods. First came the “American Dream”, then it was the “Comeback Kid”, and now it’s “The Legacy”. It’s about how we make this brand last a long time and how we translate our reputation as a “love brand” that touches women emotionally. 

It started with me wanting to get empowered by getting into fashion. When I became successful, I was empowering other women with my clothes. It’s about how we continue to have an impact by coming out with products all the time that offer women solutions. We celebrate freedom and self-confidence. Everything in this shop is supposed to make women feel more confident.

 

WHAT’S YOUR GUIDING WORK PRINCIPLE?

Try to do a good job. The truth in the fashion business isn’t that you present a collection and then it’s over. It’s never over. It doesn’t stop. While I’m preparing a collection I’m already working on the fabric and colour palette of the next one. 

So it’s an ongoing process, like a symphony. It is not like writing a book, where you finish and then think about what to write next. In fashion you’re always working on many collections at the same time. Today you see my fall collection, but I’ve already finished my resort line and I’m working on the spring collection, and I’m even searching for inspirations for my 2016 pre-fall and fall collections.

 

AS PRESIDENT OF COUNCIL OF FASHION DESIGNERS OF AMERICA, CAN YOU OFFER YOUNG THAI DESIGNERS SOME ADVICE?

My advice is to make sure you work very hard on yourself at the beginning and try to be clear about what you have to offer and what distinguishes what you do.

 

HOW IMPORTANT OF THE THAI MARKET TO YOU?

I don’t know much about the Thai market, but I have my partner and I am very happy to see how much people like it.

 

 SLEEK AND SEDUCTIVE