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I guess it’s documentaries-on-fabulous-women season and someone forgot to tell me, because not only did Liza: A Truly Terrific Absolutely True Story premiere at Tribeca this year, so did a new doc on the impossibly cool Diane von Furstenberg. And unlike Liza, we don’t have to wait to see the film on Diane! Diane von Furstenberg: Woman in Charge is streaming now on Hulu and Disney+, the release timed to coincide with the 50th anniversary of her iconic DVF wrap dress. People Mag just interviewed Diane to talk about the anniversary, the film, her best style tip, and the markings of a fully lived life:
Fifty years after Diane von Furstenberg created the wrap dress, the cultural luminary’s presence in the fashion industry is still as palpable today.
To celebrate her creation’s milestone anniversary, von Furstenberg, who’s now cochair of her eponymous brand, recently launched a capsule collection featuring the silhouette in a new Crossword print. She also designed limited-edition sunglasses with Italian eyewear brand L.G.R. And, in addition, she launched a whopping 200-piece assortment with Target that ranged from apparel and accessories to home decor, including made-to-order furniture, that naturally sold out.
As she looked back on the history of the piece — and ahead to the premiere of her documentary, Diane von Furstenberg: Woman in Charge, during a recent chat with PEOPLE, the legendary designer shared that when she first thought up the garment, she hadn’t imagined it’d have such a lasting impact.
“I didn’t know when I made that little dress that it was going to be a social phenomenon and that people would be buying it 50 years later,” she says of her famous design.
“I made the wrap dress, but really the wrap dress made me. It just happened. I owe her as much as she owes me,” continued the author and philanthropist, 77.
Von Furstenberg added that the dress is “a vehicle” for her to honor women. “I care about [her],” von Furstenberg says.
Of its longtime popularity, she surmises, “I think it’s successful because it makes a woman feel confident.”
Von Furstenberg, who says she sees her wrap dress on women when she’s out and about “all the time,” shares that her best style tip is “be yourself.”
She continues, “It’s not trying to be who you are not. Embrace your imperfections. If you do, you turn them into assets. I can’t say it enough: There’s nothing more becoming than that.”
In the documentary, which premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival on June 5 and debuted on Hulu in the U.S. and Disney+ internationally on June 25, von Furstenberg can be seen gracefully climbing into her sink to get a close-up of her skin while moisturizing her bare face.
It’s a striking moment that sums up her take on beauty and aging.
“I never had my hair or makeup done for [the documentary],” von Furstenberg explains.
“The point is: I think that people are too afraid of aging. But aging is a good thing. Aging proves that you have already lived. I never thought I would get to be my age. I used to think I was going to die by the time I was 30 because I had accomplished so much by the time I was 28. That’s why I say, instead of asking, ‘How old are you?’ you should ask, ‘How long have you lived?’ And then, all of a sudden you answer with pride.”
I cannot recommend this documentary enough. Admittedly, I’m easy to lure in with a panoply of bright, bold patterns. And in a brisk 97 minutes? Color me happy. But I actually didn’t know much of anything about DVF, and found myself utterly captivated not only by her story, but by her telling of it. She is so direct, and clear about herself. I imagine some of that comes with age, or excuse me, how long she’s lived. Yet after seeing the film, I also got the feeling that Diane has always had a knack for really knowing herself and reveling in that, and it’s like she’s made it her mission in life to pass on that wisdom: be yourself! Of course, not all of us were dealt the cards of somehow being effortlessly regal yet simultaneously casual like DVF, but don’t let me spoil a profound statement about celebrating oneself. One moment from the doc that I loved (it happens early on, so not a spoiler!) was Diane saying, “It wasn’t that I wanted to be a fashion designer. I wanted to be in charge, and fashion ended up being the way I could do that.” Here’s to women being in charge. Or as I call it, the natural order of things.
photos credit: Cat Morley / Avalon, James Warren / Bang Showbiz / Avalon, Caroline Torem-Craig / Avalon
