Diane von Furstenberg at Lucky Magazine’s Fashion & Beauty Blogger Conference

by Christa

This post is the first of three about Lucky Magazine‘s 2nd Fashion and Beauty Blogger Conference, held on September 7th. The day was so jam packed, I need a few posts to talk about it!

“My mission is to empower women.” -Diane von Furstenberg

Diane von Furstenberg was a “brunette in a country full of blondes,” she explained to over 200 eager bloggers. Diane (pronounced DEE-ahn) grew up in Belguim, where she told us that she felt different. She wanted to be self-sufficient, pay her own bills, be her own person, run her own company.

Diane spent her early years working in fashion, which set the foundation for the rest of her life. In the mean time, she fell in love with and got engaged to Prince Egon von Furstenberg of Germany (yes, that means she was a princess. As if she wasn’t awesome enough already). An unexpected pregnancy hurried up her engagement, and Diane and Egon got married in Paris in 1969 (the couple divorced in 1972, but she still used her married name…minus the princess/royal part) before moving to America.

“In the two years after I got married, I had three children: my son, my daughter, and my brand,” she told us.

The rest, as they say, is history.

After coming to America, Diane created her claim to fame: the wrap dress in Jersey knit material. Called T-72 in the factory, the wrap dress was inspired by ballerinas and originally started a skirt and shirt combination. It was a dress intended to make women feel confident and feminine. Needless to say, this dress skyrocketed Diane von Furstenberg’s career and the DVF brand in the fashion world. To this day, DVF still produces and reinvents the wrap dress and even offers exclusive “wrap of the month” dresses for Facebook fans.

Diane fully believes in the power of the written word and social media. DVF, as a brand, embraces social media and is active on Facebook and Twitter. Years before dvf.com launched, Diane kept a diary because she “believes in truth, connectivity, dialogue.” That dialogue is continued today with her customers, and Diane feels she has a special relationship with them because of it.

Aside from a short biography of her life and brand, Diane offered us advice on how to create our own brand and a few lessons she’s learned on her own life journey. The following resonated with me the most:

As you find your own voice, you share and have a dialogue with others.
When it is bullshit, it remains bullshit.
Most important thing in life, in love, in anything, is authenticity.

Authenticity was a theme that carried through the entire conference.

This post doesn’t do her talk justice, so feel free to check out the video of her speaking. I can’t think of anyone more appropriate and inspirational than Diane to speak first at Lucky Magazine’s Fashion & Beauty Blogger Conference, and I feel so honored to have heard her that morning.

I already got my picture up on Facebook, so check them out here.

Diane showing us her outfit, as one blogger asked (obviously).