Truly, I could write this entire column about the shoes Diane von Furstenberg was wearing at Florence Gould Hall Monday night. She was the third fashion designer in a three-part series presented by the French Institute Alliance Francaise [FIAF] and as she sat on the stage with interviewer Pamela Golbin, I was admittedly transfixed.
From the third row in the auditorium, dead center, I could see her well-defined cheekbones, a black-and-white butterfly print dress of her own making, her long perfectly crossed legs made even longer in smooth black tights, and those delicious shoes. Let’s at least give them their own sentence. Picture sleek, black suede slingbacks with a red platform and a dizzyingly high red octagonal-shaped heel.
But this is not Vogue or Harper’s Bazaar , so enough about the aesthetics. DVF, as she and her brand are now internationally known, has more than plenty to offer on how to live life. In the course of my research on her, mostly for my own edification, I found we have a lot in common -- we’re both Capricorns, we treasure our independence, need solitude, were receptionists in a former life, have exceeded everyone’s expectations of us, and now make a point of living well and using our gifts to help others do the same.
So it was with heightened anticipation that I took a seat and drank in the atmosphere. I’m not going to lie. In the days leading up to the event, deciding what to wear expended much of my energy. I came to the conclusion that the spirit of DVF is to wear anything you feel fabulous in, so cashmere ruled, not to mention my finest everything down to fragrant body lotion and statement jewelry.
“Seduction doesn’t come from the clothes,” von Furstenberg said during the event. “It comes from enjoying being you.”
Ah, yes. It had hit me before DVF even graced the stage: If I feel this good because I went to all this trouble today, why am I not pulling out all the stops more often? Why not feel fabulous most of the time instead of some of the time? It’s kind of like saving the china for special occasions. Why? What are we waiting for?
Diane von Furstenberg is not waiting. She never has.
Back in 1972 she arrived on the fashion scene and her iconic wrap dress flew off the racks. She affectionately calls that her first career. In her 1998 memoir, she chronicles that time, complete with business challenges, personal relationships including marriage to a prince, being young in the period “between the Pill and AIDS,” raising children, jet setting, meeting current husband Barry Diller and dealing with throat cancer.
The book provides a sort of separator between her first and second careers; the former, she said, was ruled by instinct while the latter is all about experience. And, oh, what that experience hath wrought. Ask almost any female -- a 16-year-old, a 26-year-old, a 36-year-old, a 46-year-old and right on up the line -- what they think of DVF and they almost swoon. It’s hard to tell whether it’s about her or the clothes, but doesn’t that say it all?
The wrap dress -- along with plenty more clothes and accessories -- is back in force. There’s a surreal studio in Manhattan’s meatpacking district that shines neon pink from three floors of windows at night. There’s her presence on MTV’s The City , in which she tells a young woman (and very young viewers) in one episode that “the most important relationship you have is with yourself.” There’s the presidency of the Council of Fashion Designers of America. There’s the involvement with Vital Voices, a women’s leadership organization that empowers emerging women leaders around the world.
“My mission in life is to empower women,” the 62-year-old von Furstenberg said. “Through my clothes, my job, my business, my words and my philanthropy. Every minute of every day, that’s my mission. It all makes sense now.”
For some who think that’s all well and good for the wealthy woman, but that kind of reinvention isn’t possible for them, know this: von Furstenberg became the woman she wanted to be because she first identified an attitude and the paraphernalia that she wanted to accompany it. She just didn’t know how she was going to get it.
Back in the 1970s, when she walked into legendary fashion editor Diana Vreeland’s office with her clothing samples, she got through the door on who she knew. But once in, it was up to her to convey her gift. The aspiring designer had to step up her game.
Now, in a place of commanding confidence, DVF is beguiling. At the FIAF event, after saying she is not interested in designing clothes for men or for children, von Furstenberg added of the latter, “Let them grow up and want to be women.”
What can I say? This life coach got schooled. Really, it’s not so much about the shoes, but what the shoes communicate.
Stop waiting. Kick up your heels.
Diane von Furstenberg has it down.
Nancy Colasurdo is a practicing life coach and freelance writer. Her Web site is www.nancola.com. Please direct all questions/comments to FOXGamePlan@gmail.com.
Reveling in ‘A-Ha’ Moments
Bellevue Center developer asks for year delay for overhaul
In This Economy, Ask Yourself the Right Questions
