Diane von Furstenberg: A Heritage Designer Brand
DVF was founded in 1972 by Diane von Furstenberg, who set out to empower women through style. Renowned for the iconic wrap dress, DVF quickly became a global designer brand, celebrated for its bold and creative approach to color and print, and feminine silhouettes that are effortless, sexy, and on-the-go.
The DVF brand gives every woman the tools to be the woman she wants to be, with clothes that are fresh, modern, functional, and practical. We always put the woman before fashion.
"Our jersey fabric sculpts the body and acts as a second skin. Prints with movement make a woman feel even more feline. All of this explains the magic of the DVF wrap dress and its body language of confidence."
- Diane von Furstenberg
“Clothes have to be simple, timeless, and an extension of a woman’s personality.”
- Diane von Furstenberg
The Woman Behind The Brand
Diane von Furstenberg is a fashion designer, philanthropist, and author who has dedicated her life to inspiring women. As founder of her eponymous brand and creator of the iconic wrap dress, Diane defined freedom for generations of women. She established the DVF Awards with the Diller-von Furstenberg Family Foundation in 2010 to honor and support women who have had the courage to fight, the strength to survive, and the leadership to inspire.
She has authored several books including Diane: A Signature Life, The Woman I Wanted to Be and Own It: The Secret to Life. Diane was inducted into the National Women’s Hall of Fame in 2019, and she received the Chevalier de la Légion D’Honneur from France in 2020, as well as the Commandeur de l'Ordre de la Couronne from her native Belgium in 2021. She currently serves on the boards of Vital Voices and the CFDA.
In 2023, she was the subject of Woman Before Fashion, an exhibition dedicated to her life and career at Brussels's Fashion & Lace Museum then at the Skirball Cultural Center and became a book published by Rizzoli. In 2024, the documentary Diane von Furstenberg: Woman in Charge premiered as the opening selection at The Tribeca Film Festival before officially launching on Hulu and Disney+ internationally.
In addition to her efforts to empower women, The Diller-von Furstenberg Foundation was instrumental in restoring New York City’s High Line and creating Little Island. Diane also spearheaded the fundraising and creation of the new Statue of Liberty Museum on New York’s Liberty Island.
“My role in Fashion has always been about the woman and the woman first. How to make her feel good and be in charge, helping her to be the woman she wants to be. It’s about how she feels, using the the tricks of dressmaking, the colors, the fluidity of the fabric, the prints. All of it creates the secret body language of confidence”
- Diane von Furstenberg
Philanthropy
The DVF Awards
Diane von Furstenberg and The Diller-von Furstenberg Family Foundation founded The DVF Awards in 2010 to recognize, support and amplify the voices of extraordinary women who are dedicated to improving the lives of other women. These are women who have demonstrated the courage to fight, the strength to survive and the leadership to inspire.
Honorees are celebrated annually at the DVF Awards ceremony, with five awards bestowed to women who are working to find solutions to the world’s most pressing problems. The Diller-von Furstenberg Family Foundation provides grants to each honoree for their non-profit organization to further their important work.
Over the years, The DVF Awards have honored extraordinary women from more than thirty countries working across a variety of issues, from tackling climate change and immigration, to fighting human trafficking, promoting gender equality and preventing violence against women.
International Women’s Day
For 17 years, Diane von Furstenberg has celebrated International Women's Day with a weekend-long event at the NYC Headquarters. Celebrations focus on mentorship, multigenerational panel discussions led by inspiring women from various industries, and shopping for a cause at the NYC DVF Headquarters.
InCharge
The InCharge movement is a DVF platform where women connect to share stories and expertise with one another at inspiring events.