IF Donna Karan, who showed her DKNY collection earlier in the day, represents one archetypical New York designer - a member of the Ralph, Calvin, Kenneth club - then Diane von Furstenberg is their kooky aunt. Though Belgian by birth, the designer is as much a part of the fabric of New York as any native. In fact, perhaps more so, since Manhattan is her residence of choice, not necessity, and now she has taken a new generation of locals under her wing in her role as president of the CFDA. Backstage before the show, wearing a flattering bubble dress and flirting with the frenzied crowd of reporters, Von Furstenberg seemed ebullient. She held a beer while speaking with some journalists. Needless to say, the woman knows how to work a room.
"I was thinking about Africa," she told us about the starting point for this collection. "Africa, and the beginning of the world—because Africa is where it all began," before adding: "And light, and hope. It's about beginnings." In the audience actress Susan Sarandon was sandwiched between Valentino and Oscar de la Renta on one side, while celebrity stylist Rachel Zoe sat on the other. Oh, and there were editors and buyers there, too.
Like with God, with Von Furstenberg, in the beginning, there was light. The show opened with crisp wrap-dresses in cotton and eyelet lace. The collection had an evolutionary feel, moving into cool, earthy tones. Then, patterns began to emerge resembling molecules and cellular organisms before tumbling forward with a garden's worth of flora and vegetation. The colour palette moved swiftly from kumquat to tourmaline to lilac and back again within the blink of an eye and sometimes contained within the same look. The lovely thing about the designer's work is that it's as appropriate for a young, cavalier doyenne as it is for a more mature customer, so long as she fits into the kooky aunt category.
After the show, Von Furstenberg appeared with a handful of American flags and her creative director Yvan Mispelaere, handing the patriotic pennants out to friends and loved ones who have helped make the United States her home—a place of new beginnings.
SEE THE DIANE VON FURSTENBERG SHOW ARCHIVE