December 2, 2013

"But as I look ahead and think about what may still be relevant in fashion years from now, I think back to eras in style that were defined by freedom."

"I am so happy I was young in the ‘70s and participated in the women’s movement and all it meant. My generation behaved as if it had invented freedom. That was a moment in time, between the discovery of the pill and the arrival of AIDS, when sex was carefree and fun. For design inspiration then, we looked 40 years back, to the 1930s. We loved its furniture and architecture, all minimalist, and the light style of the clothing."

Writes Diane von Furstenberg.

ADDED: Her penultimate paragraph is "Who saw this coming? An icon of the ‘70s: Andy Warhol," which was especially funny to me because as I was reading, I was planning to search for "Diane von Furstenberg" in my copy of "The Andy Warhol Diaries." She's all over the place in there. Sample:

Bianca [Jagger] was there. I thought she’d already left for Paris. She was saying out loud everything I was thinking— what two bitches Diane Von Furstenberg and Sue Mengers were— and she said, “At least Sue can be funny sometimes.” Sue was on her way to Europe to meet her husband, who only lets her see him once every couple of months, I think.
Another one:
And Diane Von Furstenberg was there and she lives in Eleanor Lambert’s building so she invited Bob and me down for dinner and to watch Holocaust. So we went down and Diane’s mother was there, and Marina Cicogna. Diane’s mother had been in Auschwitz, and when the concentration camps came on she was laughing— she said that they made it so much more glamorous than it was when she was there, that all the women had crewcuts and it was a lot more crowded, that where the movie had 20 people there were really 300,000. And it was weird to be seeing this with Marina Cicogna whose family was so involved with Mussolini. Before it was over, Diane was ready to go out, she was calling for a limousine.
And:
There was a mob scene around where Barry Diller and I were sitting because John Travolta sat down two inches away. His eyes are just like— dyed— blue-green. I mean, really deep blue. And he has the most beautiful smile. His teeth must be polished every day. And his skin is beautiful. And he’s so nice. And he says nice things to everyone. And he was talking the most to this girl he thought was with us, but she was a DVF groupie. And Diane is so desperate to be recognized that if one person says, “You’re Diane Von Furstenberg, I love you,” she says, “Come with me,” and she makes them follow her around for the rest of the night so that she can have a following, and then she gives them presents— she carries lipsticks and compacts with her to give out, and she autographs them.
And:
Sondra looked great in this beautiful bright yellow silk dress— the color I used on the Debbie Harry portrait— and it made her look so young, eight years old, and we asked her who made it because it was really pretty and she said, “You’ll fall over if I tell you.” So she told us and Bob and I did fall over— it was a Diane Von Furstenberg. Off the rack for $ 120. It really was pretty.
Also:
Diane Von Furstenberg was having a party for her boyfriend, Alain Elkann, who was married to the Agnelli daughter. He’s French. He’s written four books, and in France if you’re an intellectual, you don’t have to work, they just treat you like this big—“ intellectual.” Like Loulou de la Falaise’s husband who’s supposed to be a novelist but I don’t think he’s ever finished anything. So Diane’s going the Marilyn Monroe route of marrying one person for the name, and now she’s going with this guy who’ll write books about her.

8 comments:

n.n said...

They were so carefree and demanding. The paradox is that with the "invention" of freedom, there was a progressive loss of liberty.

rehajm said...

We loved its furniture and architecture, all minimalist, and the light style of the clothing.

'light' and 'freedom' don't describe 70's makeup. I wonder what era influenced makeup of the 70's with all that colored eye shadow? Egyptian Old Kingdom perhaps? Seems like every era of makeup is defined as 'more natural' as you glob on more eyeliner and pancake.

madAsHell said...

Little did I know the wrap dresses I was making at the time would still be relevant in the 21st century. I am amazed that, as I celebrate the 40th anniversary of the dress in 2014, my little creation is still being worn by young women across the globe.

Narcissus much??

Ann Althouse said...

"between the discovery of the pill and the arrival of AIDS"

Because nothing has "arrived" until its presence has been made known.

Bob R said...

Well, she could have bragged a lot more if she had wanted to. In a decade famous for terrible fashion, she created a style that is still won today, and probably will be for years to come. She certainly is a better designer than a writer.

Bob R said...

won = worn

Julie C said...

Yes, the pill was "discovered" hiding behind a book on the third shelf in the library.

I do love her clothes, however. Agree with Bob R - the iconic wrap dress is very flattering to the female body.

Char Char Binks, Esq. said...

Such beautiful people!