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Cosmogony of Desire
Diane Von Fürstenberg, born 1946
Born Brussels, Belgium
Forty years ago, Diane Von Fürstenberg designed the iconic wrap dress that continues to captivate women from Madonna to Michelle Obama, Beyoncé to Kate Middleton. With its zipperless, buttonless construction, the dress allows its liberated wearer to move comfortably from home to the workplace to the evening and still look powerful, polished, and feminine. Von Fürstenberg says, "It's the dress that . . . paid my bills, gave me my fame, and allowed me to be free." Born in Belgium to Jewish parents, Von Fürstenberg credits her mother, a former prisoner in the Auschwitz concentration camp, for teaching her that "fear is not an option."
Von Fürstenberg and artist Anh Duong share a bond as feminists. Duong began the portrait by painting one eye on the canvas and then worked the rest of the body around it. Von Fürstenberg noticed that in that one eye, "she completely and totally captured me."
by Anh Dyong, 2001 |