First published 2014
Diane von Furstenberg chronicles her fashion empire through the lens of one iconic garment. The story begins in 1972 when she lands in New York carrying jersey dresses made at Angelo Ferretti's Italian factory. Two years later, with encouragement from Vogue's Diana Vreeland, her wrap dress design captures the fashion world and launches a career spanning four decades. This visual memoir follows the dress through its many iterations and the women who wore it, from Jerry Hall and Iman to Penélope Cruz and Michelle Obama. Von Furstenberg weaves together photographs by masters like Helmut Newton, Annie Leibovitz, and Francesco Scavullo with artwork from friends including Andy Warhol and Francesco Clemente. The book reveals how a single design became both a business foundation and a symbol of female empowerment, showing how fashion can reflect and shape cultural moments across generations.
Genres: art, 20th-century, business, biography-memoir, fashion-designers, 21st-century, fashion, fashion-design
Vibes: emotional, intimate, thought-provoking, visual
Tropes: business-origin-story, cultural-impact, female-empowerment, generational-legacy
Setting: Italy, New York
Period: 1972, 1974
256 pages · Hardcover · Rizzoli