Diane von Furstenberg

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The word "iconic" is overused in fashion, but the silk jersey wrap dress genuinely is just that. When it arrived on the scene in 1972, it signaled the New Woman—the then-revolutionary concept of competing in a man's world while looking totally feminine—and within a couple of years it had landed its creator, Diane von Furstenberg, on the cover of Newsweek. Born in Brussels and married young to her first husband, the Austro-Italian Prince Egon von Fürstenberg, the designer seemed to have it all: family, business, and a glittery social life. In the eighties she retreated from New York and fashion, only to make a triumphant return the following decade. Proving that lightning can strike twice, she rebuilt her business from the ground up, reintroducing the wrap and much more to a new generation. In 2001 she made an equally successful merger on the personal front, marrying entertainment mogul Barry Diller. Today von Furstenberg moonlights as president (a supremely effective one) of the Council of Fashion Designers of America, by day confidently helming an empire that now encompasses 22 retail boutiques and a bridge line. The DVF look is one of the most clearly defined—and therefore recognizable—anywhere in the shopping world. The designer herself projects an elegance and sureness of vision that make her, still, the best image with which to market her own brand.

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