The Drapers Interview: Diane von Furstenberg

Hitting the spot: von Furstenberg chose Mayfair for her third store in London.

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She may have taken on the world, but Diane von Furstenberg has finally fulfilled her dream of opening a store in London's Mayfair. Lauretta Roberts pays a visit

Separating Diane von Furstenberg the woman from Diane von Furstenberg the brand can be tricky, partly because those around her refer to both the woman and the brand by her now-iconic initials. When they say "DVF is about empowering women", you assume they mean the brand, but when they add that "DVF is due at 3pm" you're not so sure any more.

In any case, it doesn't matter. DVF the woman is the embodiment of DVF the brand, so the two are pretty much interchangeable. Von Furstenberg only wears her own clothes, her own fragrance, her own cosmetics and her own jewellery, and every business undertaking is a deeply personal project. Her new store in London's Mayfair is a case in point.

Von Furstenberg opened her first London store in Notting Hill in 2003 in partnership with one of her first UK stockists, London-based designer mini-chain Matches. A second store in Wimbledon followed last year, and she had been hankering after a site in Mayfair for years. "It was time for Mayfair," explains DVF president Paula Sutter, who has been with the company since the brand was relaunched in 1997. "Diane went to school in London, so it's very personal to her. She's been talking about Mayfair for a long time."

After coming close on a few locations, Matches managing director Tom Chapman eventually secured 25 Bruton Street, formerly home to a yachting company and just a few doors down from the flagship stores of both Stella McCartney and Matthew Williamson.

The store officially opened at the start of London Fashion Week last month with a party attended by the great and good of the London fashion scene (von Furstenberg was particularly pleased to see British Fashion Council chairman Stuart Rose and chief executive Hilary Riva at the event), along with some personal supporters, including her boyfriend from her English school days.

"I used to shop at Wallis – it was nice then. And Jaeger, I used to like that," recalls von Furstenberg of her shopping trips to Oxford Street during her youth. "To me Mayfair is the quintessential London, it's so elegant and so wonderful and reminds me [of that time]."

It's also around the corner from top-end stationer Smythson of Bond Street, which is von Furstenberg's favourite shop. She says she is planning to visit after her interview with Drapers to buy a guest book for her Mayfair store, explaining that she likes to read the messages left by customers.

At 2,650sq ft, the Mayfair store is by far the largest of the three she now has in the capital; Notting Hill is 750sq ft and Wimbledon 510sq ft. A bigger location was needed to showcase DVF's full line-up, which has grown far beyond the wrap dresses upon which she has built her reputation. The offer now includes suiting, separates, swimwear and coats. "The product was looking quite squashed," Chapman says of the Notting Hill shop. "DVF calls it the two-rail store."

Chapman first met von Furstenberg in 2002, having been one of the first international retailers to back her wrap dresses in 2000.
"We talked about opening a store then. I had a great belief in her as a person and her ability to expand beyond wrap dresses," he says.

Chapman, who founded Matches with his wife Ruth in the 1980s, went on to become DVF's first international retail partner. "We've had a very special relationship and I've been incredibly privileged. She's a wonderfully inspiring person and has brought a lot to the table for me and my business," he adds. In turn, von Furstenberg says of Chapman: "It has been a great, great partnership. Tom is a very smart retailer and a very good merchant."

By January next year DVF will have 22 international stores, some of which are wholly owned and some of which are run in partnership. Von Furstenberg explains that she enjoys the partnership approach to retail and does not like the idea of applying a DVF template to all her outlets. "It's very important that you have the local flavour and not the same thing in every shop. I don't like that. If I were a cook, I would make a big buffet and let people choose what they want," she says, adding that she enjoys learning from her international retail partners. "They add a lot to my business," she explains.

However, there are some things in the brand DNA, such as colour, that are evident wherever you are in the world. Von Furstenberg is known for her prints, which are all developed in-house, and she has a particular passion for a certain bright fuchsia shade. 'Beet' has become her signature colour and features in the furnishings in Mayfair, as well as much of her autumn 07 collection.

"I was on a liquid diet and was drinking beet juice. I spilt some on me and thought 'what a beautiful colour'," she says, proving her assertion that she takes her inspiration from "everywhere".

However, it is her customers that inspire her the most. Sutter says von Furstenberg will often walk into her stores and go straight towards the fitting rooms to see what customers are trying on. Such is her charm that customers don't mind being scrutinised by one of the world's most famous names in fashion while dressed in their underwear. "They love her!" says Sutter, who admits that she herself is more comfortable poring over a balance sheet.

"I learned everything from my customers," says von Furstenberg. During the photoshoot she breaks off to introduce herself to a customer, explaining the range and the fact that new deliveries are made every month.

"If I have a role in fashion, it is to empower women. I do that with the choice of fabric, the colour and the silhouette. I offer quality at an affordable price," she explains. Her prices sit at the lower end of the designer scale, which, along with her clothes' wearability for women of all ages (von Furstenberg is 60 and no one looks better in her collections), is key to the brand's success. Dresses retail from £200 for a basic jersey up to £450 for more intricate styles. Coats start at just under £400 for heavy jersey styles, up to £700 for a bell-sleeved leather style.

While the expansion of the range seems rapid, Sutter says von Furstenberg considers every addition very carefully and will not be rushed into adding new products she doesn't believe in. That is why it took so long for her to launch a handbag range – her voluminous 'wrap' bags are new for autumn 07. "People kept asking for handbags, but she just wasn't ready. She isn't a woman who carries a handbag. She always carries a tote and her laptop," Sutter explains. "She will only do brand extensions that she's passionate about. If she doesn't connect to it, it won't work."

Next season will see the launch of DVF's first footwear range, featuring a distinctive multi-faceted heel that resembles rock crystal. As with her clothes, the focus for the shoes was comfort. "She wanted to do a shoe that was comfortable when walking around all day," says Sutter.
Von Furstenberg certainly doesn't stand still. She is also working on a fragrance, due to be launched next year, and is opening seven stores this season, from Madrid to Moscow. "I like to grow," she says. No doubt von Furstenberg and her brand will carry on doing so.