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By Alexander Patino
| The One & Only 'DIANE' |
‘DIANE’ – Diane von Furstenberg’s Premiere
Fragrance Captures All of the Icon’s Powers of
Seduction in a Bottle.
Fragrance Captures All of the Icon’s Powers of
Seduction in a Bottle.
After two years of detailed planning, Diane von Furstenberg – the Queen of New York
City – finally unveils her eagerly anticipated premiere scent ‘DIANE’ at an exclusive
Bloomingdale’s event – with not just a public appearance, but with her very own flash
mob clad in DVF Wrap Dresses.
Diane von Furstenberg may not have her Princess title from her first marriage to Prince
Egon of Furstenberg, but that likely means little to the woman who is regularly regarded as
the Queen of New York City – and that’s not just in the kingdom of fashion.
This striking Belgian-born powerhouse is a literal empire onto herself. Her greatest claim
to fame – the 70s born DVF Wrap Dress – which continues to evolve, and yet, still carries
the same simple structure from when it first helped skyrocket her career as a fashion
designer, is as iconic to the vocabulary of American dressing as denim jeans. With
dozens of boutique around the world, a full range of accessories and new collections
arriving every season, one would imagine that DVF had all the bases covered – but not
quite.
This past Thursday DVF set off on a whole new expedition, which kicked off at NYC’s
Bloomingdale’s with an exclusive event to promote her premiere perfume – ‘DIANE’.
While DVF made her way to the uptown retail giant to first meet with a select group of
seven fashion editors before holding an in-store event, where fans could finally purchase
the new seductive scent and meet the Queen herself – DVF sent off scores of girls out into
the streets of New York on what could only be called a ‘Wrap Rally’. Clad in DVF’s
distinctive wrap dresses, her emissaries spread out all over the island, from Soho to
Penn Station to the Village, where they handed out samples of ‘DIANE’ and gathered
hordes of fans to rally together at Bloomingdale’s in what was truly a DVF Flash Mob of the
most fabulous proportions. Consider it the modern day equivalent of a queenly summons
to court for the kingdom’s latest grand festivity. All citizens welcomed, of course.
City – finally unveils her eagerly anticipated premiere scent ‘DIANE’ at an exclusive
Bloomingdale’s event – with not just a public appearance, but with her very own flash
mob clad in DVF Wrap Dresses.
Diane von Furstenberg may not have her Princess title from her first marriage to Prince
Egon of Furstenberg, but that likely means little to the woman who is regularly regarded as
the Queen of New York City – and that’s not just in the kingdom of fashion.
This striking Belgian-born powerhouse is a literal empire onto herself. Her greatest claim
to fame – the 70s born DVF Wrap Dress – which continues to evolve, and yet, still carries
the same simple structure from when it first helped skyrocket her career as a fashion
designer, is as iconic to the vocabulary of American dressing as denim jeans. With
dozens of boutique around the world, a full range of accessories and new collections
arriving every season, one would imagine that DVF had all the bases covered – but not
quite.
This past Thursday DVF set off on a whole new expedition, which kicked off at NYC’s
Bloomingdale’s with an exclusive event to promote her premiere perfume – ‘DIANE’.
While DVF made her way to the uptown retail giant to first meet with a select group of
seven fashion editors before holding an in-store event, where fans could finally purchase
the new seductive scent and meet the Queen herself – DVF sent off scores of girls out into
the streets of New York on what could only be called a ‘Wrap Rally’. Clad in DVF’s
distinctive wrap dresses, her emissaries spread out all over the island, from Soho to
Penn Station to the Village, where they handed out samples of ‘DIANE’ and gathered
hordes of fans to rally together at Bloomingdale’s in what was truly a DVF Flash Mob of the
most fabulous proportions. Consider it the modern day equivalent of a queenly summons
to court for the kingdom’s latest grand festivity. All citizens welcomed, of course.
DVF also invited a select group of seven editors for a loungy, colloquial moment at
Bloomingdale’s ‘At Your Service’ area to discuss her latest beauty endeavor. Instead of
giving you the gist of what she had to say about ‘DIANE’ – here’s what DVF had to say
about her new treasured love potion, in her own words:
I felt like young girls these days have never been told about the power of a fragrance.
A woman’s fragrance is a weapon – a weapon of seduction. So I wanted to create a
fragrance that had the power of a classic. We worked for two years on this. The two
main inspirations were flowers. One is the frangipani – a white flower that grows in the
Pacific, has five petals and it grows on a very ugly tree, but it smells so wonderful and
clean. It’s all about light and happiness and solar optimism. Now the second flower is
completely different – it grows in the shade - in places in the woods where you will
probably step on it, but if you do pick it up – it is strong, mysterious, mischievous and
totally seductive – and that is the violet. So the frangipani and the violet are like the
ying and the yang – and then of course the special things that make a great perfume
like myrrh, cedar and patchouli. In this bottle I have put all my love, wisdom, passion,
knowledge and all my secrets of seduction.
One peculiar idea about the powers of perfumes surfaced when a fellow editor asked DVF
what her favorite place to spritz perfume was, on the body. “The articulation,” she
responded. “The truth is that once you wear perfume you don’t smell it anymore. If you
don’t wear any perfume at all and you finish getting ready – something is missing. It’s just
the punctuation. You don’t smell it once you wear it, but other people smell it. Fragrance is
about addiction and memory.”
What we were wondering was why it had taken so long to touch upon a beauty item that,
for most other brands with a full deck of accessories and products, was a real no-brainer.
DVF – the woman – is a symbol of grace and long-standing power and she’s held that role
for decades. While the American celebrity continues shelling out signature, eponymous
scents on a weekly basis – how is it possible that one of the country’s prime emblems of
powerful femininity doesn’t have one of her own? Her answer is somewhat bittersweet:
“Well I had a very successful fragrance when I was very young that I named after my
daughter – ‘Tatiana’, when I had built quite a big company and then I sold the company
and they destroyed it, so …”
Bloomingdale’s ‘At Your Service’ area to discuss her latest beauty endeavor. Instead of
giving you the gist of what she had to say about ‘DIANE’ – here’s what DVF had to say
about her new treasured love potion, in her own words:
I felt like young girls these days have never been told about the power of a fragrance.
A woman’s fragrance is a weapon – a weapon of seduction. So I wanted to create a
fragrance that had the power of a classic. We worked for two years on this. The two
main inspirations were flowers. One is the frangipani – a white flower that grows in the
Pacific, has five petals and it grows on a very ugly tree, but it smells so wonderful and
clean. It’s all about light and happiness and solar optimism. Now the second flower is
completely different – it grows in the shade - in places in the woods where you will
probably step on it, but if you do pick it up – it is strong, mysterious, mischievous and
totally seductive – and that is the violet. So the frangipani and the violet are like the
ying and the yang – and then of course the special things that make a great perfume
like myrrh, cedar and patchouli. In this bottle I have put all my love, wisdom, passion,
knowledge and all my secrets of seduction.
One peculiar idea about the powers of perfumes surfaced when a fellow editor asked DVF
what her favorite place to spritz perfume was, on the body. “The articulation,” she
responded. “The truth is that once you wear perfume you don’t smell it anymore. If you
don’t wear any perfume at all and you finish getting ready – something is missing. It’s just
the punctuation. You don’t smell it once you wear it, but other people smell it. Fragrance is
about addiction and memory.”
What we were wondering was why it had taken so long to touch upon a beauty item that,
for most other brands with a full deck of accessories and products, was a real no-brainer.
DVF – the woman – is a symbol of grace and long-standing power and she’s held that role
for decades. While the American celebrity continues shelling out signature, eponymous
scents on a weekly basis – how is it possible that one of the country’s prime emblems of
powerful femininity doesn’t have one of her own? Her answer is somewhat bittersweet:
“Well I had a very successful fragrance when I was very young that I named after my
daughter – ‘Tatiana’, when I had built quite a big company and then I sold the company
and they destroyed it, so …”
Spritz Yourself In Your Very Own DIANE
“Everything I know about seduction is in the bottle.” –Diane von Furstenberg
“Everything I know about seduction is in the bottle.” –Diane von Furstenberg
Bittersweet because reason has it (as well as common sense) that DVF is not going anywhere any time soon. Along with elegance and poise, DVF – those three little letters – also stand for
longevity. Her loyal followers are legion, and most importantly, her fans are getting younger with every passing year. Before we all headed off for the real event downstairs, DVF wanted to
know if we followed her on Twitter. If you do follow her, you would know that a DVF tweet is usually encased in sagacity – little words of wisdom. As a woman with an empire under her belt,
who prides herself on aging gracefully, she feels she is finally at a place in life where words of wisdom have become stockpiled. It was also a serendipitous question, since we were just
about to ask her about her wise tweets. “Two days ago you said, ‘try to do one thing that does not profit you every morning! Love Diane.’ Just curious – what was the first thing you did this
morning?” She racked her brain for a second on it, but her eventual answer was a doozy: “I have a friend that I’ve known all my life and she’s 70-years old and she’s been with a man for
35-years that I used to work with - and actually, today, I made them decide to get married.” Just another day in the life of DVF.
longevity. Her loyal followers are legion, and most importantly, her fans are getting younger with every passing year. Before we all headed off for the real event downstairs, DVF wanted to
know if we followed her on Twitter. If you do follow her, you would know that a DVF tweet is usually encased in sagacity – little words of wisdom. As a woman with an empire under her belt,
who prides herself on aging gracefully, she feels she is finally at a place in life where words of wisdom have become stockpiled. It was also a serendipitous question, since we were just
about to ask her about her wise tweets. “Two days ago you said, ‘try to do one thing that does not profit you every morning! Love Diane.’ Just curious – what was the first thing you did this
morning?” She racked her brain for a second on it, but her eventual answer was a doozy: “I have a friend that I’ve known all my life and she’s 70-years old and she’s been with a man for
35-years that I used to work with - and actually, today, I made them decide to get married.” Just another day in the life of DVF.
Get your very own 'DIANE' fragrance wrap dress as seen on DVF herself for only $345, dvf.com.