Excercise: Week 3

DVF Brand Diane von Furstenberg was born in Brussels, Belgium in 1946 to a Jewish family. Diane traveled to Switzerland after high school to study Economics at the University of Geneva where she met and married her first husband Prince Egon von Furstenberg. After they were married the von Furstenberg’s moved to New York where their son and daughter were born. In 1972 Diane entered the fashion world by designing the easy knit dress in order to fill an American fashion void and in 1974 she introduced the world to her famous wrap dress. In 1975 DVF became a brand name with the licensing of products expanding her line with merchandise such as jewelry, eye wear and luggage. In 1976 Diane landed the cover of News Week and the Wall Street Journal, she was said to be “the most marketable woman since Coco Chanel”, that same year Diane launched her first fragrance called Tatiana, named after her daughter. In 1979 Diane licensed her dress line, created an in-house cosmetic business and wrote a book entitled “Diane von Furstenberg’s Book of Beauty”, she then toured the U.S. to introduce her cosmetic line and her book. In 1983 von Furstenberg sold her cosmetics business to Beecham Group Ltd, at this point all DVF businesses were licensed. Diane left the U.S. in 1985, moving to Paris where she opened a French-language publishing house. In wasn’t until 1990 when Diane returned to the U.S. and published three books in 1991. In 1997 after stepping away from the fashion world for some time, Diane re launched her infamous wrap dress, she was inspired to do so by young women who were buying her original 70’s wrap dress from vintage stores. In 1998 Diane wrote another book which was her business memoir entitled “Diane: A Signature Life”. In 2001 Diane von Furstenberg hired a young designer by the name of Nathan Jenden as the creative director of DVF and the brand became a full collection expanding global distribution. In the next few years the DVF brand continued to grow. In 2003 DVF opened boutiques in Miami and the first store overseas in London, that same year dvf.com was launched. Later that year DVF teamed up with Venus Williams to create a line of women’s tennis wear. In 2005 the Council of Fashion Designers of America honored Diane with the Life Time Achievement Award after 30 years in the fashion industry. That same year DVF opened stores in Los Angeles, Hong Kong and Paris, from there the number of locations continued to grow. In 2007 Dian launched Soleil, a swimwear and beach collection, she also launched a line of shoes and handbags. In 2008 Diane von Furstenberg was featured in an American Express card member campaign. Since her break from fashion, Diane von Furstenberg came back strong and hasn’t stopped. She has been working with artists and marketing campaigns to keep her name alive and to keep consumers interested in what she has to offer. I believe one of her strongest assets is herself; she is a self empowered woman who inspires other women to be strong and to be themselves. She represents her brand and if you can connect with the designer then you can connect with her designs. DVF is not a publicly traded company so there is no financial information available; however it seems that the brand DVF is as strong as ever. Philanthropy is a huge part of Diane’s business and is very important to her. The DVF awards are honored on behalf of women’s causes. “The DVF Awards aim to provide recipients with the exposure and resources needed to extend their critical efforts on behalf of women’s causes. Each year, The DVF Awards honor deserving recipients who have displayed leadership, strength, and courage in their commitment to their causes” – dvf.com DVF also provides a DVFFF award which is the Diller-Von Furstenberg Family Foundation which provides support to various non profit organizations. I think that the goodness of Diane Von Furstenberg as a person has translated into a successful brand that women will forever admire. She has gone above and beyond to reach women and show them self confidence and beauty from both a fashion standpoint and from within. What she as an individual represents is carried over into her brand and her philanthropic efforts. We see not only a successful brand but a strong woman behind it. I think that the DVF brand will continue to grow and succeed in years to come.
www.dvf.com