“Oooooh, you look stunning,” Diane von Furstenberg purred, seeing Cindy Crawford walking in wearing her circa 2000 archive wrap dress.
“Diane’s was the first show I did in New York,” the supermodel said, arriving at the galleries of the Skirball Cultural Center on Tuesday night for the opening of “Diane von Furstenberg: Woman Before Fashion,” making its North American debut at the Los Angeles museum and Jewish institution founded in 1996.
“I love that you’re wearing this dress,” the designer said as the two sat together sharing a moment. “I have lived a life,” she reminisced, as the exhibition does, on her 50-plus year career.
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“She showed women how to dress for work and still be sexy,” Crawford said of von Furstenberg’s impact. “It wasn’t women wearing men’s clothes.”
“For a lot of us here, we learned how to operate in the world watching her and by her leading through example,” said Jessica Alba. “When I was starting my business, at first I was fearful, but she opened up so easily and was so welcoming, sharing her wisdom and advice,” the Honest Company founder continued. “She’s this warm hug but then this fierce icon.”
“Diane von Furstenberg: Woman Before Fashion” which runs Thursday through Sept. 1, debuted at the Fashion & Lace Museum in 2023 in Brussels, where the designer was born. The museum’s head of exhibitions and publications Nicolas Lor also authored a book of the same name published in 2023 by Rizzoli.
The exhibition explores von Furstenberg’s career from the 1970s to today, showcasing more than 50 garments from her archives alongside artwork, interviews, essays and other personal effects touching on how art, nature and the American sense of freedom she experienced through an immigrant’s eyes have all influenced her designs.
The Skirball’s iteration also shares her history as the daughter of a Holocaust survivor with artifacts and footage from her mother Liliane Nahmias speaking about her experience. The show also deepens the conversations von Furstenberg had with other designers, showcasing their work alongside hers, including Claire McCardell, who influenced the famous wrap dress.
“I just watched her documentary a few weeks ago and I think she’s a leader within,” said designer Anine Bing, referring to the Hulu film, “Diane von Furstenberg: Woman in Charge.”
Veterans of von Furstenberg’s company also came out for the opening, including former creative director Nathan Jenden, former public relations director Jennifer Talbott and showroom owner Betsee Isenberg who stood in front of a video loop of runway shows from the early 2000s comparing stories — and looks they brought out to wear for the event. “We’re here to support,” Isenberg said.
Lauren Sanchez was huddling with Barry Diller in conversation as the cameras snapped around them. “She’s a light,” Sanchez said of her friend, von Furstenberg.
And the 77-year-old designer is not done yet. In August, it was announced she is taking back her company from her Chinese licensee. Glamel Trading Ltd. in Hong Kong has controlled global operations, including design, production, marketing and distribution since 2000. During that time, the brand has been relatively quiet compared to others that have a similarly strong nostalgia and archival appeal.
Going forward, the 52-year-old fashion label will not be managed in-house again, and Graziano de Boni, who joined DVF in October 2023 as chief executive officer, will be overseeing all aspects of the business.
“I am hitting the winter of my life, so all I’m taking care of now is operation legacy,” the designer said. “The business is smaller than it’s ever been but I have the control back.”