Designer Diane Von Furstenberg, 72, was a guest on Late Night with Seth Meyers. I’m ashamed to say that I haven’t watched an interview with her before and that’s my loss because she’s delightful! She’s so insightful, funny and just confident without sounding full of herself. I really liked some of the wisdom she dropped and wanted to talk about it. If you can watch the interview it’s well worth it but if not here’s some of what she said:
You seem very relaxed do you ever get nervous [speaking in public]?
No because I like to speak. I kind of try to impress myself. I always try to say something that I haven’t said before. So I learn.When you were a little girl did you think you would speak in front of people
My mother even on my first birthday she made me do public speaking. It’s part of me. I did a lot of them as a little girl in front of the mirror. The mirror is where you understand that you have total control of yourself. You realize ‘I can make her do whatever I want.’That’s a fantastic thing to do at a young age
That’s where I really learned my big lesson that the most important relationship in life is the one you have with yourself. Then once you have a good relationship with yourself then every other relationship is a plus and not a must.
[From Late Night]
Diane just held the annual DVF Awards, which she started in 2010 to honor extraordinary women. They gave the lifetime achievement award to Anita Hill, which is awesome. Katy Perry got inspiration award and Nadia Murad, an Iraqi human rights activist, was honored as well. Diane is also holding the Statue of Liberty gala and she said that she’s the temporary godmother of the Statue of Liberty! She raised the money to build a museum on Liberty Island, which is really cool. Seth joked that it’s unlikely that another country would want to honor us now like France did with the Statue of Liberty.
Diane has been married to billionaire media executive Barry Diller since 2001. He’s her second husband, she divorced Prince Egon von Fürstenberg in 1983 and he passed away in 2004. I love what she said about every other relationship being “a plus not a must.” That’s so wise and I’m going to try and live by those words. It’s hard because you want certain people in your life and the loss of those people can feel devastating depending on the circumstances. But you really should love and know yourself most of all. I’m going to pay more attention to DVF from now on.
Here’s the interview!
photos credit: WENN and via Instagram
Oh my days, I love her. What an amazing lady! Do you think she would be my life coach?
I love that quote and wholeheartedly agree. I feel grateful to have already found that inner peace in my late 20s, and I credit it to being an only child, honestly. I’ve always been perfectly content being alone with my thoughts. I genuinely like myself, too, which feels like a weird thing to say, even though it shouldn’t be weird. I have cool interests and a comfortable home and cute cats. I love staying home to watch a movie or just tidy up while listening to music. I don’t need much else, even though I obviously love my family and friends very much. This all sounds selfish, but I really believe that loving yourself and living a life that makes you feel fulfilled without needing anything/anyone else is the best thing you can do for yourself.
I feel the exact same way! I too am an only child and have had a bunch of time for self reflection and figuring out what I want for myself and how to fill my time.
I absolutely adore DVF! She is such and inspiration.
She is a treasure and a true inspiration. I highly recommend her book, The Woman I Wanted To Be.
Thanks for covering her. She used to (might still) made clothes that worked for working women, and she’s always seemed so much her own person. Love to hear more!
Two women in that pic are wearing the same dress.
It’s a very superficial thing but I would be mortified.
I noticed and wondered about that, too.
A really chic woman.