“People say I created the wrap dress, but really the wrap dress created me.”
That quote hangs on the wall of Diane von Furstenberg‘s light-filled New York headquarters in a timeline of the wrap dress, which she founded in 1974 and became an instant sensation among a new generation of liberated young women.
To celebrate the upcoming 50th anniversary of the dress, which put the designer on the map and continues to be a cultural phenomenon, she invited 40 people such as Stephen Burrows, Fran Lebowitz, Bob Colacello, Derek Blasberg, Steven Kolb, Vanessa Friedman and Fabiola Beracasa Beckman (who is producing a documentary for Hulu on DVF’s life) to a luncheon to view her spring 2024 collection and talk about all things “wrap dress.”
Curator Nicolas Lor spoke about a DVF exhibition in her native Brussels that runs through Jan. 7. “It’s the most vivid exhibition since the [Fashion & Lace Museum’s] opening in 1977,” said Lor, adding that the exhibition starts with the wrap dress and ends with the woman.
DVF is releasing a limited-edition capsule that coincides with the anniversary, featuring a crossword-inspired black-and-white print, inspired by a time that von Furstenberg was the answer to a New York Times crossword. The birthday capsule also includes reversible mesh pieces that combine heritage prints with a fresh green take on the Python print.
DVF told WWD that this year is about celebrating the past, and the brand is keeping all their plans under wraps until they’re ready to reveal a new business strategy going forward. Next year, she hopes to have a fashion show in October, she said.
Lebowitz, the author and public speaker, said she’s been friends with von Furstenberg, since she and her first husband, Egon von Furstenberg, moved to New York. “I knew Egon. He was a nightcrawler, she [DVF] was working. I was 20,” she said. Asked if she still goes out until all hours of the night, she said, “I don’t do that anymore. If I did, I’d be in jail.”
Lebowitz said she’s been doing speaking engagements around the country where she’s interviewed by writers, and then does an audience Q&A. She’ll be at the Kings Theatre in Brooklyn on Saturday.
Having frequently attended fashion shows over the years, Lebowitz said she didn’t go to any shows this season. “I’m not tired of the clothes, I’m tired of the people (not the designers). They don’t care about the clothes. I went because I’m interested in clothes,” she said. She suggested that the state of the world is “horrible, but it will get worse.”
Von Furstenberg said the designers who inspired her to go into business were Stephen Burrows and Giorgio Sant’ Angelo, with a “twist of Pucci.”
Burrows, the 80-year-old retired designer said the wrap dress is special because “It adjusts to every size. That’s why I did it so much. Everyone looks well in it.”
Von Furstenberg said what happened with the wrap dress “never happened to a dress before.” The first print was a snake print, which von Furstenberg said she didn’t think would be a hit.
“I was present at the birth of the wrap dress,” said Colacello, who at the time was editor of Interview magazine and put the dress on the cover twice. “It was easy to wear and could adjust if your weight fluctuated a bit. American women always love prints, and it wasn’t just a New York thing.”
In the meantime, DVF’s life story is almost ready for the silver screen. A documentary, directed by Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy and Trish Dalton and produced by Beckman is currently being edited and will be airing on Hulu next year. Beckman, who spent four years convincing her to do a film, said they had a “treasure trove” from the archives, and were “drowning in riches.”
“It’s a reflection of DVF and it’s a feminist anthem,” Beckman said.
As the guests gathered for lunch, von Furstenberg recalled the history of the wrap dress, and being an intern working for Angelo Ferretti at his printing mill in Como, Italy. She witnessed Ferretti creating a cutting-edge jersey fabric, and began making samples of simple printed jersey dresses to sell in America. After presenting the dresses to American Vogue editor in chief Diana Vreeland, she was advised to show the dresses at the Gotham Hotel for Market Week, sign up for the Fashion Calendar and take out a small ad in WWD.
A sketch of the wrap dress appeared in WWD for the first time in 1974. Von Furstenberg later appeared on the covers of Newsweek, The Wall Street Journal and Interview magazine. The rest is history.
