Diane von Furstenberg On Full Display

Filed Under: Fashion Smashion Models Vogue Diane von Furstenberg

The work of prolific designer Diane von Furstenberg is being honored this month in a Russian exhibition chronicling the designer's long and successful career.

The showcase will include roughly 50 of the designer's dresses, as well as career memorabilia including assorted letters, sketches, and original artwork by Andy Warhol, Francesco Clemente, Horst, et. al. The exhibition, titled "Journey of a Dress," is the first major remembrance of the dressmaker's work.

Spanning an impressive 6,000 square feet in the Manezh exhibition hall in Moscow, the exhibit is being curated by beloved Vogue editor André Leon Talley, which means it's sure to be breathtaking.

The displays will be arranged in themes emblematic of the designer's life and career, with tentative segment titles such as, "American Dream," "Studio 54," "Luxe," and "Empowerment." Despite these labels, von Furstenberg insists that the displays will integrate all her work, stating that "it's going to be old and new, vintage and now."

Along with the designer's expansive work, the clothes will be flanked by personal artifacts, including portraits of the designer painted by the likes of Andy Warhol, Ann Duong, and Helmut Newton, magazine tear outs, personal letters from Diana Vreeland, and sketches drawn by Antonio Lopez and Karl Lagerfeld, among others.

"You basically travel through my life in 35 years,… It's a symbolic journey for me because I'm a little bit Russian," says von Furstenberg, whose father was born in Russia before immigrating to the designer's native Belgium in 1929.

While the exhibit will open to the public October 31 and run through November 21, opening night festivies will take place on October 30 and will include a reception at the exhibit followed by a dinner at the Hotel Metropol. Expected guests include such bold-faced names as (DVF hubby) Barry Diller, François-Marie Banier, Naomi Campbell, and Natalia Vodianova, whose presence is particularly meaningful; von Furstenberg says the Russian supermodel encouraged her to organize an endeavor which charted her life and successful career. "She said, 'You know, people are fascinated by that," says von Furstenberg.

Thank goodness Natalia encouraged Diane - the exhibit sounds spectacular! Not to mention, they're two of our favorites.

Wish we could just hop on over to Moscow to check it out!

[Image via WENN.]

Posted: October 13, 2009 at 1:29 pm