81“The buyer for” and following: Ibid.
82“seemed so old”: DVF to the author, October 28, 2010.
82“Henry would say”: Richard Conrad to the author, May 22, 2010.
83“I wore them”: Ibid., February 9, 2013.
83“He took me”: Ibid.
83“I’m making beautiful”: DVF to Richard Conrad, undated, private collection.
83“We put together” and following: Richard Conrad to the author, May 22, 2010.
84“a place of Dreiserian” and following: Bill Blass, Bare Blass (New York:, HarperCollins, 2002), pp. 19–20.
85“grateful,” Ibid., p. 20.
87“had been completely” and following: Stephen Burrows to the author, March 17, 2011.
No Zip, No Buttons
90“all you need”: Lillian Ross, “The Millionaire,” New Yorker, January 7, 1950.
90“beehives” and following: Guy Trebay, “Needle and Thread Still Have a Home,” New York Times, April 29, 2010.
91“create some buzz”: Richard Conrad to the author, June 9, 2010.
91“That woman stayed”: Kathy van Ness to the author, August 27, 2013.
92“but we didn’t have”: Conrad to author, May 22, 2010.
92“Oh, that’s good”: Sue Feinberg to the author, November 1, 2010.
92“she’d have a famous”: DVF to the author, August 1, 2014.
93“When you’re young”: DVF to the author, August 1, 2014.
93“I had a lot of things”: Feinberg to the author.
94“Diane’s greatest talent”: DeBare Saunders to the author, August 27, 2014.
94“Diane would arrive”: Conrad to author, February 9, 2013.
94“that took the color”: Feinberg to author, October 2, 2014.
94“It felt like cashmere”: Conrad to the author, June 9, 2010.
95“I’m very worried”: DVF to Richard Conrad, July 1972, private collection.
95“It had dolman sleeves”: DVF to the author, September 12, 2014.
95“with no zip, no buttons”: EVF quoted in DVF to Richard Conrad, July 1972., private collection.
95“because they itched” and following: Conrad to the author, February 9, 2013.
97“but when I saw the photo”: DVF in an email to the author, January 19, 2014.
97“since men’s bodies”: Gloria Steinem, Revolution from Within: A Book of Self-Esteem (New York: Little Brown, 1992), p. 218.
98“excitement” and following: “The Globetrotters,” WWD, November 2, 1972.
99“a silk jersey”: Conrad to author, May 22, 2010.
99“not for Liz Claiborne”: Feinberg to author, November 1, 2010.
99“could have done without”: “Globe Trotters,” WWD, November 2, 1972.
99“I told Ferretti”: Conrad to the author, June 9, 2010.
99“Egon encouraged me”: DVF to the author, July 31, 2014.
100“You always push others”: Lee Wohlfert-Wihlborg, “The Original von Furstenberg, Egon,Wakes Up to His Own Potential,” People, December 21, 1981.
100“She was so much smarter”: Francke, Newsweek, March 22, 1976.
100“made a strong” and following: “Now: Fall in New York,” WWD, May 23, 1973.
101“I was just trying”: DVF to the author, July 31, 2014.
101“Egon had a lot”: Ibid., March 18, 2012.
101“Diane came to me” and following: Fran Boyar to the author, May 24, 2011.
101“wasn’t special”: DVF to the author, February 3, 2012.
102“You just live once” and following: Linda Bird Francke, “The Couple That Has Everything. Is Everything Enough?” New York, February 5, 1973.
102“Our sex life”: DVF to the author, July 31, 2014.
102“You destroyed my marriage” and following: Linda Bird Francke to the author, September 17, 2014.
103“Egon was more upset”: DVF to the author, July 31, 2014.
103“She said, ‘Egon’s leaving’” and following: Conrad to the author, February 9, 2013.
104“Either you give me” and following: Diane von Furstenberg, Diane: A Signature Life (New York: Simon & Schuster), p. 195.
104“We shared a lawyer”: DVF to the author, October 2, 2014.
104“He still came over”: Ibid., July 31, 2014.
104“Do you love me?” Wolfert-Wihlborg, “Original von Furstenberg.”
The Wrap
106“I knew we could”: Richard Conrad to the author, May 22, 2010.
106“Let’s make it”: Sue Feinberg to the author, October 2, 2014.
106“his mother called”: DVF to the author, October 2, 2014.
107“testing and trying” and following: Ibid., September 12, 2014.
107“It was nothing really”: Diane von Furstenberg, Diane: A Signature Life (New York: Simon & Schuster, 2009), 80.
107“We shipped it out” and following: Conrad to the author, February 9, 2013.
107“I had a black”: Leslie Garis in an email to the author, September 26, 2014.
107“very grateful”: Leslie Bennetts in an email to the author, September 27, 2014.
108“We were making”: Conrad to author, February 9, 2013.
108DARLING DICK: DVF to Richard Conrad, October 3, 1975, private collection.
108“I can’t remember”: Boyar to author, June 10, 2011.
109“Women are too intelligent”: Judy Klemesrud, “Common Dresses Are Designed by a Princess,” New York Times, November 7, 1974.
109“I’d always see her”: André Leon Talley to the author, December 4, 2013.
110“She knows her”: Oscar de la Renta to the author, July 20, 2011.
110“loved Diane”: Francois Catroux to the author, September 8, 2011.
110“I don’t pretend”: Kathleen Brady, “Diane Means Business,” WWD, June 14, 1973.
110“I didn’t call myself”: DVF to the author, July 31, 2014.
110“She took credit”: DeBare Saunders to the author, August 27, 2014.
110“She was scared”: Linda Bird Francke to the author, September 17, 2014.
111“beautiful bright yellow” and following: Andy Warhol, The Andy Warhol Diaries, edited by Pat Hackett (New York: Grand Central Publishing, 1991), p. 326.
111“it reminded me”: Bernadine Morris to the author, August 2, 2010.
112“Who else has done”: DVF to the author.
112“a climax to”: Diane von Furstenberg, “Wrap dress,” 1975–76, Gift of Richard Martin, 1997, in Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History, New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2000–, http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/works-of-art/1997.487.
113“one-tenth of one percent,” Frances Cerra, “Who’s to Blame For the Ruined Clothes?”, New York Times, August 30, 1976.
113“The stars were aligned”: Sue Feinberg to the author, November 1, 2010.
114“It was exciting”: Jaine O’Neil to the author, April 17, 2011.
114“I am very drunk”: DVF to Marion Stein, May 12, no year, private collection.
114“He was always around”: Linda Bird Francke to the author, September 17, 2014.
115“Diane’s style wasn’t” and following: Bob Colacello to the author, December 6, 2011.
115“This is really sick”: Steven Gaines, Simply Halston (New York: Jove, 1993), p. 112.
116“By the way” and following: Diane von Furstenberg interview by Victor Hugo, Interview, January 1975.
116“our bodies”: DVF to the author, August 31, 2013.
116“I was having”: Ibid., 2014.
116“I got him”: Fran Boyar to the author, June 10, 2011.
117“On the one hand” and following: Jas Gawronski to the author, June 11, 2013.
118“a typical Upper East Side” and following: AVF to the author, June 17, 2012.
119 “called me her oxygen”: and following: TVF to the author, June 15, 2013.
119“she wouldn’t let me” and following: Olivier Gelbsman to the author, February 11, 2013.
120“quietly
in the audience” and following: Bernadine Morris, “On Seventh Avenue, the Shows Gather Momentum,” New York Times, April 29, 1974.
120“Egon would come”: Richard Conrad to the author, February 9, 2013.
121“If I loan it”: Ibid., June 9, 2010.
A DVF World
124“There’s always an echo”: Stefani Greenfield to the author, January 21, 2014.
124“People were offering”: DVF to the author, October 3, 2014.
125“Why do you need”: Diane von Furstenberg, Diane: A Signature Life (New York: Simon & Schuster, 2009), p. 103.
125“the ranks of women”: Ibid., p. 108.
126“I thought” and following: Gigi Williams to the author, May 14, 2011.
126“We never should” and following: Richard Conrad to the author, February 9, 2013.
127“We did very well”: Ibid., June 9, 2010.
127“Diane can’t tolerate”: Linda Bird Francke to the author, September 17, 2014.
127“Women would book”: Williams to author, May 14, 2011.
The Adventuress
131“Do I think”: DVF to the author, October 3, 2014.
132“she was fairly” and following: Barry Diller to the author, July 15, 2013
132“It was very much like”: David Rensin, The Mailroom: Hollywood History from the Bottom Up (New York: Ballantine Books, 2007), ebook location 1811.
133“no one had known”: Diane von Furstenberg, The Woman I Wanted to Be (New York, Simon & Schuster, 2014), p. 72.
134“but I didn’t sleep”: Diane von Furstenberg, Diane: A Signature Life (New York: Simon & Schuster, 2009), p. 115.
134“We spent about a week” and following: Barry Diller to the author, July 15, 2013.
135“very much in love”: Von Furstenberg, Diane, p. 115.
135“I guess the reason”: Andy Warhol, The Andy Warhol Diaries, edited by Pat Hackett (New York: Grand Central, 1991), p. 192.
135“I don’t understand”: DVF to Andrew Goldman, “How Diane von Furstenberg Is Like a Cowboy,” New York Times, June 28, 2013.
136“Go show” and following: Jerry Bowles, “Diane von Furstenberg—At the Top,” Vogue, July 1976, p. 141–42.
136“He was always”: AVF to the author, June 17, 2013.
136“I slept with other people,” DVF to the author, July 31, 2014.
136“I don’t ask” and following: DVF to the author, August 1, 2014.
137“It hasn’t been valuable”: TVF to the author, June 15, 2013.
138“I’m here because”: Nancy Collins, “Brown Comes to Town,” WWD, May 11, 1976.
138“was the first governor”: Barbara Rowes, “Women Buy, but Men Dominate the Fashion World: Then Along Came Diane von Furstenberg,” People, May 21, 1979.
138“was so irresistible”: DVF to the author, August 31, 2013.
138“he’d gotten”: Warhol, Warhol Diaries, p. 244.
138“Yeah, briefly”: DVF to the author, August 31, 2013.
139“I loved the feeling”: Von Furstenberg, Diane, p. 157.
139“It was all for the boys”: anonymous to the author, July 11, 2011.
140“The hours between”: Von Furstenberg, Diane, p. 155.
141“The whole apartment”: Bob Colacello to the author, December 6, 2011.
141“way in the back” and following: André Leon Talley to the author. December
142“I was playing the games”: Von Furstenberg, Diane, p. 159.
142“are better than men”: “Verbatim,” Time, February 16, 2004.
142“Have I slept with women”: DVF to the author, September 12, 2014.
143“huge advance”: Von Furstenberg, Diane, p. 120.
143“Well, what do you” and following: von Furstenberg, Diane, p. 122.
144“I am not a snob”: HFT, June 1980, p. 49.
144“like Sheena”: Julie Baumgold, “Under the Volcano with Diane von Furstenberg,” New York, May 1981.
144“Sits at the bathmat”: Baumgold, “Under the Volcano.”
144“This morning” and following: Diane von Furstenberg interview by Bob Colacello, Interview, March 1977.
145“Diane understands”: Michael Gross, “The Education of Diane von Furstenberg,” Manhattan, Inc., February 1985.
145“What’s a pretty girl” Von Furstenberg, Diane, p. 109.
145“That [wrap] dress” and following: Edward Kosner to the author, July 2011.
146“I was so busy”: DVF to the author, October 2, 2014
146“For someone who” and following: Newsweek, March 22, 1976.
146“I gave up the princess”: DVF to the author, August 1, 2014.
147“I haven’t worn”: Gloria Steinem to the author, September 27, 2013.
147“you have to look”: transcript of DVF interview by Chrystia Freeland and Vanessa Friedman, published in the Financial Times, February 7, 2007.
147“Before feminism”: Gloria Steinem to the author, September 27, 2013.
147“a tomboy who suffers”: Sally Beauman, “So Who’s Liberated?” Vogue, September 1, 1970.
148“We rarely covered”: Letty Pogrebin in emails to the author, February 18 and 19, 2013.
148“We regarded ourselves”: Gloria Steinem to the author, September 27, 2013.
148“in the early days”: Joanne Edgar in an email to the author, February 19, 2013.
149“Too bad, I got there”: Luis Estevez to the author, May 17, 2011.
149“If I had to be beaten” and following: Von Furstenberg, Diane, p. 112.
Requiem for a Dress
152VON FURSTENBERG LINE and following: “Von Furstenberg Line Marked Down by Six N.Y. Stores,” WWD, June 21, 1977.
153“The handwriting”: Richard Conrad to the author, October 8, 2014.
153“I was traveling around”: DVF to the author, August 2, 2014.
153“She was bringing in”: anonymous to the author.
154“that had four walls”: Diane von Furstenberg, Diane: A Signature Life (New York: Simon & Schuster, 2009), p. 131.
154“he could not make”: Richard Conrad to the author, May 22, 2010.
154“came in one morning”: DVF to the author, August 1, 2014.
154“It was a House of Eurotrash,” and following: DeBare Saunders to the author, August 27, 2014.
155“What happened” and following: Barry Diller to the author, July 15, 2013.
156“We took helicopters”: Lee Mellis to the author, February 16, 2011.
157“Designers were becoming”: Andrew Rosen to the author, December 10, 2010.
157“we approached her”: Lee Mellis to the author.
157“It was over Christmas”: Barry Diller to the author, July 15, 2013.
158“Suddenly, overnight”: Jaine O’Neil to the author, April 17, 2011.
158“But he couldn’t help”: Richard Conrad to the author, May 22, 2010.
158“Diane owed us” and following: Mimmo Ferretti to the author, September 12, 2011.
159“I don’t want to know”: quoted in BusinessWeek, February 19, 1995.
159“was full of beautiful” and following: Ferretti to the author, September 12, 2011.
160“I will never forget”: Von Furstenberg, Diane, p. 134.
160“My father got scared”: Ferretti to author, September 12, 2011.
160“I have a lot down my sleeve”: “It’s What You Don’t Say,” WWD, April 14, 1978.
161“asked me about my” and following: Gary Savage to the author, June 8, 2011.
162“it’s a very chic plant”: Michael Gross, “The Education of Diane von Furstenberg,” Manhattan, Inc., February 1985.
162“very velvety, purple”: Steve Ginsberg, “Beauty and the Bureaucracy,” WWD, February 24, 1978.
162“She wanted to be” and following: Savage to the author.
163“They didn’t turn out to be”: Mellis to the author.
164“DVF groupie” and following: Andy Warhol, The Andy Warhol Diaries, edit
ed by Pat Hackett (New York: Grand Central Publishing, 1991), p. 292.
164“He resented my big”: DVF to the author, July 31, 2014.
164“was really difficult” and following: Sally Randall to the author, July 28, 2011.
165“I don’t like to renege”: DVF to Iris Love, Interview, November 1981.
165“he found out he was”: DVF to the author, August 1, 2014.
165“I think Daddy’s gay”: Ibid.
165“He loved me”: Ibid.
166“upstairs huddled on” and following: Bob Colacello to the author, December 6, 2011.
166“We’d stay for a month” and following: AVF to the author, June 17, 2013.
166“I never once heard her”: Colacello to author, December 6, 2011.
166“She’s unbelievably loyal”: Oscar de la Renta to the author, July 20, 2011.
167“she’s not going”: Warhol, Warhol Diaries, p. 237.
167“didn’t like the way”: Anthony Haden-Guest, The Last Party: Studio 54, Disco, and the Culture of the Night (New York: It Books, 2009), p. 108.
167“Now people remake” and following: Fran Lebowitz to the author, April 1, 2011.
168“I definitely had” and following: DVF to the author, September 12, 2014.
168“was a very cruisy”: Stephen Fried to the author, May 17, 2013.
168“Diane and I always”: Gigi Williams to the author, May 14, 2011.
169“her rumored sexual”: Jane F. Lane to the author.
169“step for the briefest”: Jane F. Lane, “Diane von Furstenberg: I Have a Man’s Life,” W, September 15–22, 1978
169“The impression I got”: Fried to the author.
169“Later, I realized”: Von Fursteberg, Diane, p. 149.
170“The AIDS epidemic”: TVF to the author, June 15, 2013.
170“don’t want their money”: Woody Hochswender, “AIDS and the Fashion World: Industry Fears for Its Health,” New York Times, February 11, 1990.
170“The truth is”: Barry Diller to the author, July 15, 2013.
171“When the concentration camps”: Warhol, Andy Warhol Diaries, p. 128.
171“I remember Andy and I”: Bob Colacello to the author, December 6, 2011.
171“I think my mother”: and following: Philippe Halfin to the author, August 30, 2011.
172“She was literally crippled”: TVF to the author, June 15, 2013.
172“had lost her mind”: Halfin to the author, August 30, 2011.
173“too awful to contemplate”: Von Furstenberg, Diane, p. 163.