Description

(18 Jul 2017) DIANE VON FURSTENBERG SAYS HER 'THIRD ACT' IS ALL ABOUT CHAMPIONING WOMENVeteran designer Diane von Furstenberg recently turned 70 and is entering her "third act" after taking a step back from her iconic clothing line. A year ago, she ceded her company's creative director position to Scottish designer Jonathan Saunders and has focused increasingly on projects that promote women, including her annual DVF awards, now in their eighth year."You know I wrote a book called 'The Woman I Want to Be' and I think that all my life, my life was about creating a product, you know, fashion that women could use in order to help them be the woman they want to be. And now I think that in my third act, I want to use my voice to help women to be the woman they want to be, but from the inside." Von Furstenberg was looking for someone who could usher her brand into a new generation."As my company, the creative direction of my company is going to Jonathan. You know, he's a young designer. He's young. He's hip. He's cool. And so, you know, fashion is fashion. It goes up. It goes down, so I felt that I really wanted to find somebody who really understood the spirit of the brand, but who is really talented and edgy and fun to take it to the next generation," she said. Von Furstenberg is thrilled with what Saunders has accomplished during his short time with the company. "We're very much alike. I mean, you know, he's more... He's a real... For me, I mean, he protects the brand even more than I do. You know, he's a doer. He's a really hard worker. He has an incredible sense of color. He's very intelligent. I didn't expect him to have such a 360 degree understanding of business too. So it's still not so long, but it's so far so good." Von Furstenberg's latest project is the Statue of Liberty. More specifically, it's a new museum that aims to better serve the four million-plus visitors who come to Liberty Island each year, since the vast majority can't get into the statue itself due to increased post-9/11 security. The goal is to raise $100 million for the project, which is slated to open in 2019.You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/you... Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork

Tags

AP Archive 4106728 298e229d8a02e65595c470f4e79ee79a US CE Diane von Furstenberg Pt 1 New York United States Jonathan Saunders Diane von Furstenberg Lifestyle Arts and entertainment