Diana Von Furstenberg: biography, photos and interesting facts

In the modern fashion world, there are many designers who have made a revolution in clothing or are famous for their shocking ideas, but there are also those who create things suitable for ordinary people and everyday life. Among such designers there are also creators of things-icons, mast-khev clothes for any fashionista. Among these designers, of course, stands out Diane von Furstenberg and her dress with a smell.

Family and childhood

Diana, who before her marriage bore the surname Khalfin, was born in Brussels in 1946. Her mother and aunt went through Auschwitz, and the story of their dating is worthy of a special mention. In the 30th year, after the beginning of the persecution of Jews, Sima Vaisman and her cousin Leon leave their home in Chisinau. In 42, Simu is arrested and sent to Auschwitz, where she meets a girl named Lily. Between them a friendship is fastened, in spite of which Lily did not tell her new friend that she had married her lover a few days before her arrest. Soon, Lily is transferred to another camp and the girls do not even think that they will ever meet. Surprisingly, both were able to survive, and when Sima came to her brother Leon after the war, she met Lily there. It was for her brother and her girlfriend in the concentration camp married a few days before his arrest.

Sima and Lily, of course, recognized each other, but did not say a word about their common past in Auschwitz. Only after years Sima will describe this story in his memoirs. And Lily, who returned from the camp exhausted to an extreme degree, was diagnosed with infertility. Despite this, Lily and Leon were able to become parents, and in 46 they had a daughter, Diana.

Father Diana after the war was able to start in Brussels, the business of electronic trade, on which he managed to make a good fortune. When her daughter was 13, Leon and Lily divorced, and Diana went to a boarding school. All teenage years, she moved from one European school to another, until finally she remains in Switzerland with her mother, where she receives an economic education.

Acquaintance with the future husband

At 18, in one of the trendy clubs, Diana meets a young guy with whom she begins an affair. This guy was Eduard von Furstenberg, none other than the son of an Austrian prince. Edward and Diana travel together a lot, but a year later the girl throws her lover and leaves for Paris. There she, thanks to work in the photo studio, gets acquainted with the world of high fashion and decides to move to America. In addition, Edward studied in the States, and mixed feelings remained to him. Diana was jealous and bored. Their occasional meeting in St. Moritz and Edward's invitation to him to New York make the girl live in two cities.

At this time, Diana becomes even closer to the fashion world - she works already in the textile manufactory Angelo Feretti and begins to make the first sketches of future dresses. She already understands that her calling is clothing. Diana von Furstenberg soon learns that she is in position and is going to terminate the pregnancy. I must say that in 69, it was done just as quickly and simply, as it is in our time. But Diane's mother persuaded her to first inform the father of the child. From Furstenberg, she received a telegram with the words "the date of the wedding on July 15". They say she still keeps this message.

Marriage and the birth of children

Pregnant firstborn, Diana is torn to pieces - on the one hand, the dream comes true to move to New York, on the other, she feels sorry for throwing her teacher Angelo Feretti.

The wedding of Diana and Edward took place near Paris. The bride wore a white dress from Dior and a broad-brimmed hat. So Diana Khalfin becomes a princess and aristocrat. In the 70th her son Alexander was born, and in 3 months she was pregnant again with her daughter Tatyana. Children did not affect the bohemian way of life of the couple. They still attend parties, receptions and dinner parties. Diana turns in a fashionable world and is friends with Andy Warhol, Valentino, editors of fashion magazines.

Three years after the wedding, the spouses divorce. Despite the obvious problems in marriage - her work and popularity, his betrayals and binges - they are bred easily and smoothly. Diana does not ask for alimony, leaves his name and, moreover, the ex-husband and wife will be able to maintain friendship.

Years later, Diana married again, for billionaire Barry Diller. In the 70's they had a romance, then they broke up, and in 2001 met again and got married. The couple are still together. According to Diana herself, in the 70's they were too young, and now Barry is an ideal husband.

Carier start

The first steps in the world of fashion Diana began before marriage with Edward, when she worked for Feretti. He allowed her to use fabrics from her manufactory, from which the girl sewed outfits. Before her departure to America, pregnant Diana came to the factory at night and sewed from what was. Several ready-made outfits, she was taken to the States, where she showed the editor-in-chief of Vog. She liked the models and she actually launched the fashionable brand "Diana von Furstenberg." Dresses created by a beginner designer got the right to enter the world of big fashion, having an initial capital of 30 thousand dollars (and Diana never wanted to depend on a rich spouse) She founded her own clothing brand in 1970.

She from the very beginning has taken a course on a female suit which will make absolutely any attractive. This is the philosophy of the brand - to create things that adorn every figure. By the way, Diana from the very beginning refused to think about men's clothing and until now the brand is aimed only at clothes for women. However, in due course in it there were accessories, footwear and bags.

Diana von Furstenberg - the first success of a fashion brand

Already the first collections of the fashion house have become incredibly successful, and all thanks to a dress with a smell. This is the idea of Diana herself, who wanted to create the perfect dress not for the goddess of the podium or the red carpet, but for an ordinary woman who goes to work, walks with children, goes to the store. At the same time she wanted to make this woman attractive. Looking at the covers of fashion magazines with shapeless asexual dresses of the 70's and hippie-style hoodies, the beginning designer hammered into the head that she needed a dress that was feminine and sexy, and this was the dress with the smell of Diana von Furstenberg.

The designer himself called his style "piece of fabric with sleeves." In fact, this is a dress with no zippers and buttons on it, tailored like a robe. But its advantages were liked by everyone - it is easy to put on, it does not crumple, it is suitable for any occasion, and most importantly - the silhouette of an hourglass pulled in a waist with a thin girdle adorns any figure. 1975 was declared the year of the dress with the smell of a light hand Vogue. This style in English is called wrap dress and one such from Diane Von Furstenberg is stored in the costume museum at the Metropolitan.

By the way, during this period Diana von Furstenberg acts as the main model and the person of her brand. Photo in magazines, on billboards, shows the designer in his own creations, which went to her incredibly.

Disappointment in fashion and a new takeoff

Despite the frenetic success of the brand and the huge dividends from the sale of a patent for a dress with a smell, in the second half of the 80's the popularity of the brand was falling. Diana, experiencing a creative crisis, decides to go out of fashion. The financial crisis is also being imposed - clothes are not sold, stores are forced to reduce prices to a minimum. At one of the parties she meets writer Alain Elkann and with him moves to Paris, where he works in the publishing business. 5 years, she needed to understand that Alain is cheating on her and missing his favorite business. But in New York in 1990, very few people remember who Diane von Furstenberg is.

It helps to return to the clip of eminent designers a new idea - Silk Assets, a silk hoodie. It instantly becomes popular and revives the love of a dress with a smell, which is now bought up in flea markets and in vintage stores. Did not prevent her from once again climbing the fashionable Olympus and the cancer of the language, which Diana successfully overcame.

Brand Today

In the 2000s, the brand not only creates a new collection for each season. Diana von Furstenberg produces jewelry, launches a line of shoes. More than 30 mono-brand boutiques are open all over the world, but in general its outfits can be bought in 70 countries of the world. A lot of famous ladies are devoted fans of the brand. This is Michelle Obama, and Fergie, and Jennifer Lopez, and many others.

As von Furstenberg herself says, she was, of course, beautiful and rich, and moreover she was a princess, which opened many doors to her and helped to become successful. But around there were a lot of such rich and beautiful, but not everyone of them could achieve such results. In addition, the brand is an excellent example, as a legend from the past can become the main trend of the present.

Love for Russia

With Russia, Diana associates love with a long life. Her father was born in Chisinau and when Diana was little, he spoke with her in Russian, read to her classics and instilled love for Russian art. In an interview, the fashion designer always says that her father loved her very much and therefore Russian speech is associated with her with love.

She named her children Russian names: Tatiana in honor of Tatyana Yakovleva, Mayakovsky's friend, and Alexander in honor of his wife Yakovleva. With them was familiar and friendly to Diana in his youth.

In his work, love for Russia, which Diane von Furstenberg carried through his whole life, is also embodied. The collection "Winter Palace", dedicated to "War and Peace" and "Doctor Zhivago", is an example of inspiration by Russian history and literature. Diana von Furstenberg's costume shows have been held in Moscow many times, and she even delivered a lecture to the students of Moscow State University, where she talked about the formation of her brand.

Interesting Facts

• In 1976, the designer enters the Guinness Book of Records as a fashion designer who sold more than 5 million of his dresses in one year alone.
• Brand Diane Von Furstenberg creates not only feminine dresses, for example, in 2003, a sports line for the brand Reebok was released.
• And in 2012, the designer came up with limited bottles for Coca-Cola.
• Diana von Furstenberg in her youth became a model for one of the works of Andy Warhol.
• Once Diana donated half of her considerable fortune as a charity.