Veteran designer turns focus toward philanthropy
Now 70, Diane von Furstenberg redirects her energies to fundraising
Designer Diane von Furstenberg ’s current favourite model is, not surprisingly, tall — more than 100 feet (30 metres), actually. And though this model’s 225 tons don’t exactly fit into a DVF wrap dress, she does have some rather iconic accessories: a tablet and, most importantly, a torch.
Von Furstenberg’s latest project — part of a redirection of her energies in the year since she handed over the creative reins of her company — is the Statue of Liberty. More specifically, it’s a new museum that aims to better serve the four million-plus visitors who come to Liberty Island each year, since the vast majority can’t get into the statue itself due to increased post-9/11 security. The goal is to raise US$100 million for the project, which is slated to open in 2019; Von Furstenberg has already raised US$74 million in a year and a half, according to the Statue of Liberty-Ellis Island Foundation.
But the veteran designer, who recently turned 70, says she had one key request when signing on as chair of the fundraising campaign: “Don’t call me chairwoman. Give me the title of temporary godmother.”
It’s an apt title in a number of ways. For one thing, “Diane really is a godmother of fashion,” says Steven Kolb, CEO of the Council of Fashion Designers of America, where von Furstenberg serves as board chair. In her role — she was president of the organization for about a decade — she is a key influence and source of support for upand-coming designers, Kolb says.
And as she shifts into the latest stage of her career — a year ago, she ceded her company’s creative director position to designer Jonathan Saunders — she has focused increasingly on projects that promote women, including her annual DVF awards, now in their eighth year. She also often speaks to groups of women and girls, and is on the board of Vital Voices, the women’s leadership organization.
The designer calls this time in her life and career her “third act.”
“I always used to say that life has three moments,” she says. “One is development, until about (age) 30. One is enjoyment, and then the third, the last season of your life, is somehow about fulfilment.”
She says she’d been preparing for the milestone of turning 70 for about a year. What she decided, she says, was to use her voice to focus on women from the inside, rather than the outside.
“All my life was about creating a product, fashion, something (women) could use to be the woman they want to be, and now in my third act I want to use my voice to help women be the woman they want to be, but from the inside,” she says. “Because it doesn’t matter how successful and powerful women are ... sometimes you wake up in the morning and you feel like a total loser. I know I do.”