It won’t be wrong to say Diane von Furstenberg’s life story reads like a fairy tale — from her marriage to a German prince, which is where she got her second name, to inventing the wrap dress, still one of the defining dress shapes in fashion. From her subsequent divorce to going bankrupt and then staging her glorious comeback, it’s a story of an extraordinary life about emancipation, of standing up for what you believe in and, eventually, giving it all back.
Yet, at 67, DvF, as she is popularly known, is not sitting idle. Yes, she recently celebrated 40 years of the wrap dress with a global touring exhibition, which recently made a stop in Dubai, and released an accompanying coffee table book. Yes, she’s telling it all in a memoir called The Woman I Wanted To Be, which also released recently. But the focus now, she says, is about paying it forward.
Which is why, after having served as the president of the Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA) for the last 10 years, von Furstenberg is now launching a reality TV show, House of DvF. The show, which premieres on November 9 on E! in the UAE, will see the icon take eight aspiring women through their paces as they compete to become the DvF’s global ambassador.
The contestants will be tasked with taking care of different aspects of the DvF empire: From planning a press lunch to working at the spring-summer 2015 show during fashion week. With every move documented by the cameras, one winner will eventually be chosen as the face of the DvF.
“It’s all about empowering women,” von Furstenberg tells tabloid! in an interview. Here are excerpts:
Q. Hello Diane, we can’t wait for the ‘House of DvF’ to start. Can you take us back and tell us how the idea for the show came to be?
A. Well, we wanted to do something fun and interesting for young women. Television seemed like the perfect medium and I manage to get a few positive messages in there.
Q. Why did you agree to do this show? Doesn’t it put extra pressure on your already crazy schedule?
A. Not really because it is just filming a lot of the things I already do. I think it is nice to try new things and to get outside of my comfort zone and I thought it was a really great way to reach young women and inspire them at a crucial time in their lives.
Q. You’re no stranger to TV shows. But how was the experience of allowing cameras into your daily life and to show the world the inner workings of the house of DvF?
A. It was great. We had a fabulous team and it has been so much fun to get to know the girls. I hear from them all the time. We e-mail, we have lunch... That part has been really interesting for me.
Q. Were there any no-go areas for the camera crew? How much access did you give them?
A. It is really a show about the business and to show people what happens behind the scenes of a fashion company, so that is what the cameras captured.
Q. Any major dramas during the filming?
A. Well, I don’t want to give anything away but I will say that there is drama.
Q. Was there ever a temptation to ramp up the drama to make for good TV?
A. You don’t really have to. Eight young women coming to New York City to start their careers and they all want the same thing, so there is a lot of pressure...it is exciting.
Q. How were the eight contestants picked?
A. We worked with a casting agency and we chose girls who we thought would be interesting and fun. And it really is amazing to watch the evolution. Everyone changes, everyone comes into their own just a little bit more, so that is the most exciting part for me.
Q. Was it stressful to pick the contestants to make the show as diverse as possible? What kind of assistance did you get?
A. We had a lot of help and the most stressful thing, I guess, was narrowing it down because there are so many wonderful young girls out there and you want to give them all that opportunity.
Q. Did you have a soft spot for any of the contestants?
A. I don’t play favourites but I really do have a soft spot for all of them. And you will see. You will love them and then you will think “What was she thinking? I can’t believe she did that or said that or whatever” and then you will love them again.
Q. You are big on mentorship and guiding new talents through your various roles. Why is it so important to you to pass on your knowledge?
A. I have dedicated my life to empowering women...and one of the greatest things about having had some success is the chance to share that success with others. To connect people, to tell them what I’ve learned...everyone has to have their own journey, but if there is something from my own that can help them, then why not share? That is really why I wrote my book, The Woman I Wanted To Be, and it is why I am doing this show and getting the messages in wherever I can.
Q. What can aspiring designers and those wanting to get into the fashion industry learn from watching the show?
A. There are plenty of what-not-to-do moments, but there is also a little glimpse into the different sides of the business...from merchandising, to design, retail and marketing, so I think that will be interesting for people who want to go into fashion.
Q. Obviously, you can’t tell us who you eventually pick as your global ambassador. But can you give us a clue?
A. No, no, you have to watch and see!
Q. We’re lucky here in the Middle East. The show premieres around the same time as the ‘Journey of a Dress’ arrives in the region. How big a space do you have in your heart for the Middle East?
A. Oh, we love it! Our store in Dubai has been amazing and we are so happy to have a presence there.
Q. When will we see you in town again?
A. I don’t know when I’ll be back, so we had a mini exhibition in Dubai. If you didn’t get a chance to see it, it is all in the Journey of a Dress book.
Q. Now that you’ve added a reality show into the mix, what’s next for the House of DvF?
A. There is something exciting around every corner, but I am always most interested by the present. With the TV show and the books, I am just enjoying it all.
Meet the contestants
Here are the eight contestants who will compete to be the global ambassador of the House of DvF:
— Codi Critchfield, a 22-year-old fashion photographer from Utah
— Lenore Genovese, a 23-year-old New York native and FIT student
— Brittany Hampton, a 23-year-old fashion stylist from San Francisco
— Kier Mellour, a 24-year-old fashion blogger
— Abigail Petit-Frere, a 22-year-old wardrobe stylist from Florida
— Amanda Schauer, a 21-year-old student studying fashion design and merchandising at Drexel University
— Tiffani Warkenthein, a 19-year-old South Bronx native, the youngest of the group
— Jinna Yang, a 25-year-old stylist and blogger
