Diane von Fürstenberg
Coach
April 20, 2020
Donna Karan
April 20, 2020
Diane von Fürstenberg is a Belgian-American fashion designer born in Brussels in 1946. Her mother was a Holocaust survivor, and Fürstenberg has spoken broadly about her mother's influence in her life, from whom she learned that "fear is not an option".
Fürstenberg is one of the world’s most successful fashion designers, first impressing the fashion world when she introduced her now-iconic knitted jersey “wrap dress” for the working woman in 1972. This dress came to symbolize power and independence for a generation of women and helped establish Diane as a legendary and crucial fixture in the industry, with five million dresses sold by 1976.
Elegance, ease, and accessibility have always been the core of Fürstenberg’s design philosophy, which has allowed her to turn her company into a global luxury lifestyle brand. In 2005, she became the recipient of the CFDA’s Lifetime Achievement Award, and had been president of the CFDA since 2006; finally handing the reins to designer Tom Ford in 2019.
Current Creative Director: Nathan Jenden
