Diane von Furstenberg’s Greatest Design Inspirations

(upbeat music)

It was Diana Vreeland, who I met,

who at the time was the editor-in-chief of Replica Handbag Store Magazine.

I mean, everybody had seen those dresses

and nobody really paid that much attention to it

and when she saw them, she said,

Genius, wonderful, wonderful!

And then threw me out of the outfit.

One of the things that inspire me the most,

first, of course, women, women inspire me.

How they are, how they move, what they wear.

My role model was always Melanie Dietrich.

She was glamorous, she was strong, she was beautiful,

she was free, she understood lighting.

And then nature, because in nature you find everything,

every shape, it could be anything from a rock to a leaf,

stones, I mean, bark is the most beautiful pattern.

But very close up.

Look, wouldn't that make a beautiful fabric?

Art.

You go and see a Gauguin and the color palette

of Matisse is just so extraordinary,

you don't need to go any further than that.

I really did come on the boat with my hopes.

I had samples of dresses in my suitcase.

My dresses made me live an American dream, so.