Diane von Furstenberg Reflects on Her Proudest Achievement: The Little Wrap Dress

Where would she be without the iconic wrap dress? Diane von Furstenberg is reflecting on 50 years since the inception of the fabulous fashion staple that put her on the map.

“I made her, but she really made me,” the 77-year-old designer told reporters during a global press conference on Wednesday, June 5, to celebrate the Tribeca premiere of Diane von Furstenberg: Woman in Charge, debuting on June 25 on Hulu.

While discussing the creation of the documentary and reliving monumental moments in her career through archival footage, von Furstenberg admits she didn’t always know what path to take but she knew the type of woman she wanted to embody.

“When I was growing up, I didn’t know what I wanted to do but I knew very well the kind of woman I wanted to be,” she told the crowd from her New York City office, which is adorned with memorabilia, photos from her childhood and colorful patterned furniture much like her designs. “I knew the attitude and I knew the feeling. The feeling was to be in charge. I became in charge because of a little dress and because it was a little dress the more confident I became.”

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The flowy dress first hit racks in 1973 as a comfortable yet elegant alternative to the typical power suit worn by women everywhere. The inspiration was drawn from wraparound tops worn by ballerinas and the vibrant and colorful fabrics von Furstenberg saw while in Italy. By 1975, she went on to make 15,000 wrap dresses each week, CNN reported.

“I created the wrap dress and wrapped America around,” she graciously jokes in the trailer.

Her designs are seen on influential celebrities from Michelle Obama to Oprah Winfrey, Karlie Kloss and Nicky Hilton and as von Furstenberg explains, “I have no problem thinking that my dresses are uniforms for the women in charge,” Elle reported.

Not only viewers can gear up to watch “an unprecedented look at the non-stop life of a cultural luminary,” as stated in the official synopsis but “at a time when gender equality and women’s issues are at the forefront, Diane von Furstenberg’s life exemplifies empowerment, resilience, entrepreneurship and style.”

Looking at a room full of women during the press conference, von Furstenberg shares a valuable life lesson she’s learned along the way.

“Being a woman in charge is a commitment to yourself. It’s owning who you are,” she explains. [When] we own our imperfections, they become our assets. [When] we own our vulnerability, we turn it into strength.”

Believing in that philosophy, the fashion mogul has built her brand on making women feel and look their best. It therefore comes as no surprise that the Hulu documentary was crafted by a female-led team of codirector and two-time Academy Award-winning filmmaker Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy, Trish Dalton and producers Fabiola Beracasa Beckman and Tracy Aftergood.

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“I trust these women, and more importantly, I trust their intelligence, so I just gave them access to my archives,” von Furstenberg shares during the press conference. “If [the documentary] wasn’t inspirational, I didn’t want to do it.”

While pulling back the curtain on her career, she admits not only is she proud of her designs, which have stood the test of time, but she wouldn’t have been able to relish in the success without her family by her side.

She has two children, Alexander and Tatiana von Furstenberg, and five grandchildren. One of which, her granddaughter, Talita von Furstenberg, now serves as the co-chair of DVF.

“At 77, what I’m most proud of is definitely the family that came after me, my children, and my grandchildren,” she gushes. “That is by far my best samples.”