Diane von Furstenberg reveals the adventures that have helped define her indefinable life,

and why a rendezvous is a fantastic idea for fall.BY LAURIE BROOKIns PHOTOGRAPHY BY MARTIn sCHOELLER

TIME(LESS)TravELEr

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I“I’m leaving for China in a few hours, so I’m not sure how much time we’ll have.”

Diane von Furstenberg thus enters the conversation like a glamorous whirlwind crafted of energy and spirit, qualities woven through a purring Belgian accent that’s as effortless and sensuous as the way her iconic wrap dresses hug the curves of a woman’s body. The effect might be a little disarming if one of the world’s most famous women were not equally adept at putting those around her at ease, especially while discussing her clear-eyed vision of her world.

For example, is that imminent trip to China for business or pleasure? “It’s both—my life is a pleasure,” von Furstenberg says. And you believe such an idea—that she has carved out a masterful path that balances work with philanthropy, travel with exploration. She clarifies in an email sent later the same evening while en-route that this particular excursion will be a short one—she and husband Barry Diller were scheduled to speak at a JPMorgan conference in Beijing—but adds, “I don’t like to stay away from China for more than six months at a time,” partly because, like so many other journeys, the experience might inform a future collection. “My camera is always with me—nature photos become prints, an architectural detail becomes a handbag, a vegetable market a color palette.” And yet von Furstenberg’s inspirations are not always discovered halfway around the world, but sometimes quite literally in her own backyard, that of a Connecticut home she says keeps her feeling grounded and centered. “I really do feel like a New England person,” she says. “There’s something about the beauty of it, but also the four distinct seasons, that marries well with my background.”

This season we all benefit from von Furstenberg’s unique sense of beauty, confidence, discovery, and wanderlust, with a just-arrived Fall collection (available at her Newbury Street boutique) that’s roundly agreed to be among her strongest in recent years. It’s a chic juxtaposition featuring such pieces as voluminous, cleanly cut coats mixed with close-to-the-body dresses featuring luxurious details—paillettes crafted to resemble pieces of a jigsaw puzzle splashed across a pink sheath, or a bold black-and-white graphic that upon closer inspection is formed by a pattern of interlocking hands—a playful nod to Surrealism. “I’ve always been influenced by the Surrealists—my fantasy was to have had an affair with Man Ray,” she says, name-checking the artist known for combining seemingly disparate elements to inspire meaning and conversation. Von Furstenberg christened her Fall collection Rendezvous, and it embraces all that the word implies. “We wanted something very seductive, the feeling of a woman going on a seductive trip,” she explains. “There is a wonderful sense of the unknown and of expectation. And what’s going through your mind when you get a dress for a rendezvous? We wanted women to enjoy all of those ideas.”

The “we” in her thoughts includes Yvan Mispelaere, who joined von Furstenberg as her creative director in April 2010. “The way I work with Diane, it really starts with words or thoughts,” he explains. “She’s always on the go, so she sends me messages, emails, sometimes little pictures. The first word we wanted to work around for this season was volupté: something voluptuous and luxurious in colors and textures, and the idea of enveloping the body and being able to hide yourself in a way, with a sense of mystery. It’s very sensory.”

Anette suede pump.

The Mimosa shearling clutch.

The pairing of von Furstenberg and Mispelaere seems a bit of a love affair, with the mutual admiration revealed in the beauty and polish of each ensuing collection. “We finish each other’s sentences,” she says. “When you’re in design, your first references are super important, and he understands those ideas from me immediately. And it’s nice to see how I inspire him and where he takes the things I’m thinking. We really complete each other.”

“You know, we are both from the north of Europe—she was born in Brussels and I was born in Normandy, but my family’s roots are in Belgium, too,” Mispelaere notes. “So we have that in common, and with that I think comes a certain sensibility for light and also a sense of romance that finds its way into our aesthetic and how we react to that aesthetic.” They likewise share that love of Surrealism, also seen in the accessories, such as the oversized Carolina Lip clutch or a collection of nine limited-edition Fetish box clutches in whimsical shapes like hearts and clock faces; only 25 to 50 of each style are set to be produced. “There is so much excitement in our accessories right now,” von Furstenberg says. “The Fetish bags reflect that, but they’re also wonderfully timeless; you’ll keep it forever and then give it to your daughter or granddaughter.”

on Furstenberg always has that duality in mind, how one of her

designs will feel not only fresh but timeless, and how that design might inspire confidence in generations of women. It’s a philosophy that has changed little since she arrived in New York 42 years ago with a plan to be a

The Ridley Puzzle Dress from DVF’s Fall 2012 Runway.

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designer, her suitcase filled with a dozen jersey dresses. That chapter of her life is now the stuff of fashion legend: how, still married to Egon von Furstenberg, and pregnant with her first child (Alexandre, now 42), she chose independence and empowerment over the life of being a German princess. And through pieces such as that aforementioned wrap dress (which celebrates its 40th anniversary in 2014), Diane von Furstenberg—the woman and the brand—ultimately played a key role in the celebration of female equality born at almost the same moment she stepped foot in Manhattan. “I really did live the American dream,” she says. “I came here, and one, two, three, I was all over the place, a huge success very quickly.” Indeed, von Furstenberg vaulted almost instantly to the stratosphere of the New York’s social scene, one of that exclusive group who personified the high-wattage Studio 54 era. “You can’t describe history while you’re living it. Warhol painted me twice, I was photographed by Richard Avedon and Helmut Newton, but to me, they were all contemporaries,” she says of the time.

The path, she is quick to acknowledge, has not always been pristine—By 1985 von Furstenberg had sold off most of the business and moved to Paris to pursue other projects, but the lure of that dream again beckoned, and after discovering through a stint with Home Shopping Network that American women still wanted that sense of freedom and confidence von Furstenberg strives to inject into every design, she decided in 1997 that the time was right to re-launch her eponymous label. Today DVF is sold in more than 70 countries, with 54 boutiques bearing her name, while the line has most recently grown to include a home collection and a signature fragrance called “Diane,” both of which debuted in 2011. “I joke that there have been three stages to my business: the first was to be financially independent, the second was to show myself and the world that the first wasn’t an accident, and then the third is where we are now, a company I think of as an asset for my children and grandchildren,” she says. “The most amazing thing about my brand, and to some degree me, though it’s weird for me to say it myself, is the ability stay relevant for so long. I think a little bit of it is because I’m always interested in what’s happening around me. But I’m still the same woman I always was: I felt confidence about myself, and I sell confidence. I sell attitude, and that is completely timeless.”

Steven Kolb, CEO of the Council of Fashion Designers of America, works with von Furstenberg largely through her role as the organization’s president (a title she’s held since 2007) and believes her pragmatism to be a chief reason for her success. “American design is a combination of creativity and commerce; we’re not afraid to make money, and we’re not afraid to sell,” he says. “If you’re going to create something so beautiful and it lives in a closet somewhere, but nobody gets to wear it or see it, what have you created? Nothing. Diane understands that and celebrates creativity and commerce. There is an entrepreneurial spirit that exists in American fashion, and she really represents that. She’s also a great American success story; she had an idea and was able to frame that idea around what she was looking for, how she felt a woman should dress, and she built an incredible American brand around it.”

Von Furstenberg also has used the success of that brand to raise awareness of women’s issues, both through The Diller-von Furstenberg Family Foundation (out of which she created the annual DVF Awards, bestowed each March at the United Nations) and such organizations as Vital Voices, which recognizes and assists those women who seek to make a difference largely through grassroots efforts all over the world. “I’m on the board of Vital Voices and devoted to the work they do,” she says. “I feel very privileged that I can use my success and the fruits of my success to truly change people’s lives; it really is the thing that brings me the most happiness. But everything I do in my life, it all works toward one goal: to empower women.”

ou can divine a bit of psychology from the way a designer takes his or her bow at a show’s end—Carolina Herrera steps out only a few feet for a brief wave, while Michael Kors fairly jogs the course of his runway, often wearing a smile that borders on ebullience. Diane Von Furstenberg walks the length of her runway at a pace that seems equal parts confident, deliberate, and leisurely, stopping for a kiss from Diller or a bouquet of f lowers from her grandchildren. And for the past four seasons, by her side has been Mispelaere, holding her hand. “That was a big challenge for me, to walk beside her,” Mispelaere says. “I’m a little more shy than she is, but I’m getting used to it. Now it’s a moment in which I feel very proud, and also a little protective of her. Emotionally it’s a strong moment for me, and I think for her also. But my pace has gotten easier. I think she’s empowered me in a way also.”

Von Furstenberg always has an eye on the future, it seems, but she is also a passionate believer that you’re a product of your journey, and the woman who’s been twice painted by Warhol and who through her designs played a role in the feminist movement of the 1970s, who went from being the wife of a German prince to a bona fide icon of fashion and female empowerment—well, she says she wouldn’t change one second of it. “Many years have passed since I landed in New York, pregnant and with dresses to sell,” she says. “A lot of life, a lot of ups and downs. I have lived fully and learned a lot, yet I am still the same person—the same love of life, curiosity, and desire to make things happen.”

And with that, von Furstenberg is off to China, eager to embrace another new adventure. BC

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“ I do feel lIke a New eNglaNd PersoN. There’s someThINg abouT The beauTy of IT ThaT marrIes well wITh my backgrouNd.”

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