Highlights and milestones through the years.
1970: Princess Diane von Furstenberg, married to Prince Egon von Furstenberg of Austria, arrives in the U.S. with jersey dresses she’d had made in Italy, and the seeds of a fashion business.
1974: The wrap dress is born, putting Diane von Furstenberg in business. Her slogan: “Feel like a woman, wear a dress.”
1975: The von Furstenbergs separate.
■ DVF launches her first fragrance, Tatiana.
1976: Selling more than one million wrap dresses lands von Furstenberg on the cover of Newsweek.
1979: In-house cosmetics line is developed. DVF writes “Book of Beauty: How to Become a More Attractive, Confident and Sensual Woman.”
■ Diane von Furstenberg Style for Living Collection for Sears encompasses bedding, bath, curtains, dinnerware, rugs and furniture.
Related Galleries
1983: DVF sells its cosmetics business to British pharmaceutical giant Beecham Group Ltd.
■ The von Furstenbergs divorce.
1984: Von Furstenberg sells her name and licenses and moves to Paris, starting a publishing house under the name Salvy.
1990: DVF returns to the U.S. and starts the process of buying back her name.
1992: DVF begins appearing on QVC to sell Silk Assets, an exclusive line of print and solid separates. Sales during her first show are said to total $1.2 million in two hours. Her relaxed knitwear, called Casual Chic, also a QVC exclusive, would follow in 1994.
1995: The company licenses Avon for moderate-priced casual sportswear called Diane von Furstenberg The Color Authority, part of Avon’s $130 million apparel business.
1997: DVF relaunches the wrap and a new apparel line under the label Diane, with Saks Fifth Avenue, rejuvenating her business. She moves Diane von Furstenberg Studio to a renovated carriage house in the Meatpacking District.
■ Limited alum Susan Falk is named to the new post of president and chief executive officer of Diane von Furstenberg Studio; Catherine Malandrino joins as vice president of design.
1998: The designer writes her memoir, “Diane: A Signature Life.”
1999: Paula Sutter joins the company as president, succeeding Susan Falk.
■ DVF is elected to the board of the Council of Fashion Designers of America.
■ The Diller-von Furstenberg Family Foundation philanthropic organization is founded.
■ DVF outfits all 85 contestants in vivid cocktail dresses for the opening number of the Miss Universe pageant.
2000: DVF.com relaunches.
2001: DVF’s first freestanding shop opens on West 12th Street in Manhattan.
■ Nathan Jenden joins as creative director.
■ The house introduces intimate apparel.
■ E-commerce is added to the Web site.
■ Von Furstenberg marries Barry Diller.
2002: Von Furstenberg becomes an American citizen.
■ After a 20-year hiatus, DVF signs a worldwide licensing agreement with Inter Parfums for fragrance, cosmetics, skin care and related beauty products under the Diane von Furstenberg, DVF, Diane von Furstenberg The Color Authority and Tatiana marks. A color and fragrance line would launch in 2003.
■ DVF receives a lifetime achievement award from the National Association of Women Business Owners.
2003
■ DVF teams with Reebok’s RBK label on a line of tenniswear.
■ DVF rugs launch through a partnership with London-based The Rug Co.
■ The company’s first shop in Europe opens in London’s Notting Hill, and a store opens in Coral Gables, Fla.
2004: DVF opens its first Paris flagship, a 1,600-square-foot shop at 14 Rue D’Alger.
■ The firm licenses Italian silk giant Mantero for a beach line and foulard collection and H.Stern for fine jewelry.
2005: Von Furstenberg receives the Lifetime Achievement Award from the CFDA.
■ DVF opens her first Russian store in Moscow, and shops in Los Angeles, Hong Kong and Paris.
2006: The designer is elected president of the CFDA.
■ A shop opens in Antwerp, Belgium.
■ DVF and its Japanese distributor, Unit & Guest, open the brand’s first freestanding store in Japan, in Tokyo’s Aoyama district.
2007: DVF opens a flagship in the Meatpacking District, as part of a larger complex that ultimately includes its headquarters, a 150-seat theater, showroom, studio, offices and an apartment for the designer.
■ First China store opens in Shanghai. Others open in Saint-Tropez, Brussels, Moscow, Madrid and London.
2008: Second freestanding Japanese store opens in Tokyo’s trendy Roppongi area.
■ First Las Vegas store opens at The Shoppes at the Palazzo.
■ Von Furstenberg becomes a board member of Vital Voices, a women’s leadership organization.
■ DVF pens “Be the Wonder Woman You Can Be, Featuring the Adventures of Diva, Viva & Fifa,” a DC comic designed to empower women, with illustrations by artist Konstantin Kakanias.
■ Von Furstenberg is honored with a plaque on Seventh Avenue’s Fashion Walk of Fame.
2009: Marchon wins DVF’s eyewear license.
■ DVF opens in the ION Orchard high-end mall in Singapore.
■ With Vital Voices Global Partnership, DVF stages an accessories competition to enable women in developing nations to advance their businesses.
■ The brand’s fifth U.S. store opens at the Shops at Bal Harbour in Florida.
2010: The Diller-von Furstenberg Family Foundation establishes the DVF Awards to honor and provide grants to women for leadership and commitment to causes.
■ Yvan Mispelaere joins as creative director, succeeding Nathan Jenden.
■ Von Furstenberg taps the Radio City Rockettes to perform at the Life Ball 2010, wearing DVF wrap rompers.
■ DVF designs a series of print-filled suites for Claridge’s hotel in London.
■ The designer receives the André Leon Talley Lifetime Achievement Award from the Savannah College of Art and Design.
■ The company unveils its first store in Latin America at Iguatemi São Paulo. “Journey of a Dress” is shown there.
■ Stores open in Istanbul and Dubai.
2011: Diane perfume is introduced.
■ The Diller-von Furstenberg Family Foundation grants $20 million to help finish the High Line park in New York.
■ The Municipal Art Society of New York awards its Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis Medal to Diane von Furstenberg for work in preserving the city’s great architecture.
■ A second New York shop opens on Wooster Street in SoHo.
■ A home collection of tabletop, bedding and rugs bows.
■ Grace Cha, a former Valentino USA exec, joins the firm as vice president of global communications, a new position.
■ “Journey of a Dress” goes to China, part of DVF’s push, which includes social media, to become better known there. Her account on Chinese microblogging site Sina Weibo picks up 25,000 followers in its first few days.
2012: Forbes names von Furstenberg the most powerful woman in fashion.
■ Joel Horowitz joins as cochairman.
■ Yvan Mispelaere departs.
■ DVF teams with Gap on a GapKids collection, and with Roxy on a one-time line of swimwear and accessories called DVF Loves Roxy.
■ The firm unveils a new store format at The Forum Shops at Caesars in Las Vegas, with a focus on accessories.
■ The spring 2013 runway features the launch of Google Glass.
2013: Paula Sutter departs.
■ Eran Cohen is named chief marketing officer, Robert J. Almerini joins as chief operating officer and Michelle Ryan is named to the new post of executive vice president of accessories.
■ DVF throws her support behind the Hudson Yards project and its Culture Shed as a potential future home for New York Fashion Week.
■ A dedicated accessories shop opens in the gallery space of DVF headquarters, paving the way for a big push in the category.
2014: Fashion jewelry, home fabrics and trimmings with Kravet, as well as DVF sun and optical frames made for Google Glass, are introduced.
■ Michael Herz is named artistic director.
■ Bellevue Square store in Seattle opens, two more shops are slated for Southern California and DVF signs on for a 2,000-square-foot space at Brookfield Place in Lower Manhattan.
■ “The Woman I Wanted to Be” memoir is published.
■ DVF is tapped to receive the Superstar Award at The Fashion Group International’s Night of Stars in the fall.
■ The brand marks the 40th anniversary of the wrap with the exhibition and online series for “Journey of a Dress” and teams with E to launch “The DVF Project,” a competition reality show.