THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, August 24, 1994 TAG: 9408240028
SECTION: DAILY BREAK PAGE: E5 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY MONIQUE WILLIAMS, SPECIAL TO THE DAILY BREAK
LENGTH: Medium: 96 lines
DIANE VON FURSTENBERG is a woman of many talents - among them: the ability to market herself and her image.
Never completely out of the public eye, the designer is now hawking her clothes on QVC, the cable television network known for hyping kitschy items. Watch it for a while, and you'll know you're not at Nordstrom's.
``Television,'' she says ``is not necessarily the best medium (for selling clothes), but it's a great medium.''
Von Furstenberg, however, is a woman accustomed to taking risks, and in the 20 years that she has been a fashion presence, she's been at the top as well as at the bottom.
Right now, she is poised for a climb with Q2, QVC's new weekend lifestyle channel currently under development. She is the Q2 planning director.
Born in Belgium and educated in Spain, England and Switzerland, Von Furstenberg met her Austro-Italian ``Prince'' Egon while at the University of Geneva. In 1969, they married and moved to New York, where they became part of what was then called the ``jet set.''
In 1973, she created a little wrap dress in a knit that was so sexy that every woman wanted to own one. Three million women bought her little dress, and millions more bought the Butterick pattern to make their own.
Von Furstenberg landed on the cover of Newsweek and in The Wall Street Journal, and thus was launched the DVF empire, with licensees ranging from eyewear to luggage.
But the success with the wrap dress was not to be repeated, and from the late '70s to the early '80s, Von Furstenberg was a designer in search of an identity. Her marketing talents could not overcome her uninspiring collections.
Although she had sold more than $1 billion worth of products by then, both her name and her focus became diluted.
She returned to Europe, leaving her critics and her floundering empire behind, and for a while, the ubiquitous DVF initials became nearly extinct.
While in Europe, she dabbled in yet another risky venture - the publishing world. In 1990, however, she came back to the United States and tried to regain control of her businesses by buying back her name from the licensees and by rebuilding her design studio.
The fashion world, however, isn't one to embrace ``has-beens.'' In a world where a designer is as good as her last collection, her re-entry wasn't heralded as the return of the prodigal daughter.
Two years later, Von Furstenberg, savvy as she it, bypasses the retailing community altogether and chooses TV, a medium that allows her to go straight to her customers.
It, of course, doesn't hurt to have friends in high places - QVC's chairman, Barry Diller, is an old friend who bought QVC at her request. His 16 percent stake in QVC is valued at $280 million; Von Furstenberg's financial interest in QVC is undisclosed.
Last spring, she introduced a silk collection (Silk Assets) of brights and solids to QVC's 47 million-home network. The collection was a hit. In the first two hours, she sold $1.3 million, and to date, she's sold about $15 million worth of merchandise.
Electronic retailing proves to be a great medium for DVF. Von Furstenberg is friendly and accessible, and women love her earthy demeanor.
``I've done very well on personal appearances,'' she says, ``but most of all, I truly enjoy the contact with people.''
While her fashions aren't avant-garde or terribly innovative, they appeal to a large segment of women who find televised shopping an enjoyable time-saving option.
This month, Von Furstenberg launches her Casual Chic collection of knits for fall.
Her collection is made up of soft, casual knits in plaids, stripes and solids in charcoal grays, navy blues and chestnut browns.
``The whole point of these clothes,'' she says, ``is that they are comfortable.
``It's the kind of clothes that you can wear until you have holes in them.''
She called her collection Casual Chic because, she says, ``people think that casual means jeans and a T-shirt. But you can be casual and chic at the same time.''
She prefers knits, she says, because they travel well and don't wrinkle, and she likes the feel of warmth that knits provide.
``You can sleep in them,'' she says.
The silhouettes are loose, with elasticized pants and shapes that are forgiving, and they fit many body types.
The collection is carefully merchandised for a television audience who cannot see or touch the product. All pieces are interchangeable with pullovers and turtlenecks that go with skirts and pants, jackets, kimonos and shawls that go with all tops and bottoms.
Prices range from about $36 (for a long-sleeve jersey tee) to about $95 (for a kimono coat).
Casual Chic will debut on QVC from 9 to 11 p.m. on Friday. ILLUSTRATION: Photo
Fashion designer Diane Von Furstenberg is now selling her clothes on
QVC. Her new line is called Casual Chic.
by CNB