Royal socialite turned fashion designer, Diane Von Furstenberg changed the way women looked at dressing when her revolutionary wrap dress melded function and fashion in one and became the foxiest fashion of the 70s.
Like the 60s “little black dress”, Von Furstenberg’s ‘little bourgeois dress’ was perfect for the office, the disco, and for Sunday Brunch. The wrap was simple sophistication for the woman on the go.
Von Furstenberg created her wrap dress in 1973 as an alternative to the unisex look that was infecting the corporate world. She believed women could be chic without being too sexy but could be sexy without being inappropriate. Her answer was a dress that wrapped across the body, much like a robe, for an instant, elegant fit.
The look worked for most body types and could go from office to disco with a switch to sexy high heels and some dynamite jewellery. Produced in boldly patterned polyester or slinky jersey, the wrap dress was convenience and sexy chic all in one.
Women were addicted to the ease and comfort and loved that they could still embrace their sensuality in the body-skimming slip. Ladies didn’t have to be slaves to fashion to look good, nor would the feminists have to burn their bras and live in jeans for easy and comfortable fashion.
As Diane, herself said, “To some, the wrap became a manifesto for the liberated woman of the 1970s”.
Cybill Shepherd wore the Diane von Furstenberg wrap dress in Scorsese’s Taxi Driver in 1975. With a low-neck and a red and with geometric pattern and tie waist, it optimised everything sexy and effortless about Diane’s designs and soon became a cult 70s happening.
By 1976 Diane had sold over 5 million of the dresses worldwide, building a lasting fashion empire in the process.
