Diane von Furstenberg demands that you face the truth

It’s easy to look at fashion icon Diane von Furstenberg’s career and see only the incredible outcome: A brand carried by the top global retailers; clothing coveted by women everywhere; a name so famous that it's one level above Madonna or Cher — just the initials DVF do the trick; a business first launched in 1972 that’s thriving in 2019. 

But when I sat down to talk with her two years ago about her career and companies, she was just as eager to talk about success as she was to talk about the times when the bottom dropped out for her. Those rough years came, in particular, after she sold her company at 33. “I felt like a has been,” she explained. Her acquirer began plastering DVF on everything and the saturation caused consumers to lose interest; Von Furstenberg, herself, tried to find a new career but the fit wasn’t there.

The once red-hot interest in this wunderkind had moved on and Von Furstenberg wondered if the world was right to. “Life is a journey, I mean it's like it's not always sunny. It rains and it's sunny and it's windy and it's cold and there are mountains and there are lakes and there are rivers. And you just have to ride it and do the best you can. And often, when you are very much at the peak of your success, everybody acclaims you. You actually know inside that things aren't so good. And the same way, sometimes people think you are through and you're over and you're a failure, but you already know you are making it back."

As she was talking, I had a clear view of the prints on the wall of her NYC office: giant framed images of Von Furstenberg made by Andy Warhol. It was pretty clear that she had long ago made it back.

This interview was a fun one. Von Furstenberg is as colorful as her office is (as you can see in the image above, there's no executive office quite like it). She speaks with the kind of openness that comes from having seen, talked to and done just about everything. And unlike so many people I interview — who are still in the throws of proving themselves and their businesses — Von Furstenberg has moved on to the "third act," as she calls it. She's running her business, yes, but getting more and more reward in mentorship and giving back. In our talk, she gives back plenty; the interview is full of tips, particularly for women.

Here are some highlights:

On leading while in her 70s:

I'm at the stage of my life in which I am starting my third act. So, what is this third act? Well, in a sense, on the business side, it is to be able to bring in people and talent that will take it on and will make it last and make it relevant for now... So now, I really want to use my voice, and I want to use my experience and my wisdom for people who have no voice, or take people with a voice and bring it on and kind of weave this fabric of experience. Because, at the end, I became the woman I wanted to be, and I want every woman to be the woman they want to be. 

On self-doubt:

One of the biggest thing with women is that we tend to be insecure. I'm sure men tend to be insecure, too, but it translates in a different way. But women get insecure, all of us. I mean, so many days I wake up and I just feel like a total loser. Now, in most people's eyes, they won't look at me as a loser, right? I'm the woman across the room and I look so cool and together and know everything and that's the way they see me. And I am that. But that doesn't mean I feel like that all the time. And, the same way as I am the woman across the room, I look at the other woman across the room, and I think, "Oh my god, she's so together." Right?

On the secret to breaking through:

I think another thing that is so important is to always be very open. And being open means pay attention. Pay attention to people who you think have no interest. There's nobody that's boring if you actually pay attention. And you can learn from everyone.

On her morning routine:

I have a little game I play with myself. Which is the first email I do every morning is something that doesn't benefit me. So I may introduce you to this person and I don't have to speak, I don't have to leave a message, I can do it all through email by connecting these people. And I can change one persons' life with so little effort, but that's the beauty of generosity, it doesn't always have to be about giving money. It's just paying attention to others and trying to solve peoples' problem, introduce people.

On her strengths and weaknesses:

I'm very good at intuition and I'm very good at coming up with solution, and what people want. Because I want it all and all the time . And so, if you want it all all the time, you have to be super organized and super practical… But I'm not a good manager, for sure, and I never did a business plan. Which I should have done. I mean, there's a lot of things that I should have done that I did not do.

On honesty:

I think that the most important thing, in good time and in bad time, is to absolutely face the truth and not be delusional. And by facing the truth, okay, well, this is what happened, it's not so great and what can I do now? And then you find another path and another door and another person or something and you start something fresh. And maybe that thing was great, this thing that could have happened, and then you don't even remember that it started with a failure.

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