DVF: A SIGNATURE LIFE

I am reading Diane Von Furstenberg's biography A Signature Life and find her life so inspiring! The bold patterns transcend generations, and are as fresh now as they were during the original launch in 1972. "Most fairy tales end with the girl marrying the prince. That's where mine began," says Diane Von Furstenberg. She didn't have to work, but she did. According to the biography, "Diane lived the American Dream before she was thirty, building a multimillion-dollar fashion empire while raising two children and living life in the fast lane. When she came back to the fashion world to relaunch the icon twenty years later, she emerged wiser, stronger, and ever more determined never to sacrifice her passion for life." I love DVF and her image of sophistication and strength.

Diane's quote, "My work and my designs have always been an expression of me and an extension of my personality" especially resonated with me. I, as most designers probably do, relate to this perspective and I can't wait to find out more about the visionary behind the iconic dress. 

DVF: PATTERN PLAY

LACMA: JOURNEY OF THE DRESS

I can't help myself. Put me in a room with floor to ceiling hot pink leopard print, and it feels like I've died and gone to heaven. The Journey of a Dress, the new Diane Von Furstenberg exhibition that just opened in the Wilshire May Company Building is a brilliant explosion of pattern and color. I literally took a few hundred photos in less than an hour.

The dresses and patterns are incredible: all 200 of them! I was blown away by the exuberance of color and energy of patterns. The show’s highlight was a central exhibition space filled with wrap variations, short and floor-length, casual and formal, deftly arranged in marching-band formation.There were animal and python prints, Andy Warhol-inspired florals, signature chain-link geometrics. The large scale leopard print and graffiti patterns on the walls left me speechless. Every direction I turned, I took a photo.

To showcase these incredible patterns, I will post everyday this week. Enjoy!

DIANE VON FURSTENBERG

Pattern Play is the order of the day at the new Diane Von Furstenberg exhibit at LACMA. The exhibition celebrates four decades of the dress that started  it all.

CLE TILES: TURKISH INFLUENCE