Sunday, September 11, 2011

"My Mission is to Empower Women"



The lineup of speakers and panelists for Lucky FABB was incredible. I felt starstruck and inspired just looking at the program of the day's events.

After Lucky Magazine's Editor in Chief, Brandon Holley, opened the conference with a few welcoming words, my fellow attendees and I were graced with the extraordinary presence of none other than Diane Von Furstenberg.

I have never seen a clip of her speaking at all so I had no idea what to expect. I found myself enamored of her wise voice with that endearing accent. It was magical to hear her speak. I also had no idea that the proper way to pronounce her name is actually "dee-ann."

After telling us how she met her first husband ("He had a Maserati, like all Italian men do. And drove like a maniac, like all Italian men do"), she moved on to the business side of things. She told us that in order to succeed, we need to like ourselves, that the most import relationship one can have is with yourself. She believes all women should have children and strive to maintain an identity outside of their work. She had the room laughing when she exclaimed, "Work is okay. Children are okay. The husband is the hard one."




As the conversation turned to the world of blogging, I was fascinated to hear that Diane Von Furstenberg believes she was one of the world's first bloggers, writing her thoughts on her website. Then the theme of the day was mentioned for the first time as she encourages us to be authentic, true, and connect in our online dialogue.

DVF has truly adopted social media in a big way, in fact, she considers herself addicted to Twitter! And just like us, she is always looking for followers and retweets. I also learned that she offers an exclusive wrap dress on her Facebook page. There is a different design each month and it's only available to FB fans! I was also pleased to hear that she's a bit of a gamer girl, frequently playing solitaire and Angry Birds!


One of my favorite parts was when someone asked her what she was wearing. She stood up and proceeded to name off each piece. I wasn't quick enough to jot down each piece, but I do remember most of them were, of course, DVF! She mentioned that she was donning nude fishnets because she's "too old" to go around with bare legs--too funny!



Then came the moment were she unveiled a shiny new techic toy: the Harper Connect bag! It's not only a hot handbag, but a chic case for your iPad as well. This bag immediately went to the top of my mental wish list, but as there were only 50 made, I'm not counting on actually getting my hands on one.


The beginnings of the iconic wrap dress was the next thing conversation moved to. She told us how the it began as a ballerina-like wrap top with a matching skirt. Before long, it had turned simply into the T-72 dress, made of printed jersey. She says it became popular because it makes women feel feline, but, more importantly, it makes men notice.

When asked what inspires DVF and if she had any pointers on running a successful business, she had lots to say. Her mission is to empower women, therefor women, nature, and art are her top inspirations. She expressed importance in taking time for yourself. Swimming, yoga, and hiking is what she does. Even thought it's hard when you're young to feel like you can give advice, it's critical to believe in and be true to yourself, and remember that everything in your life reflects you; your home, your man, etc.

To succeed, it's necessary to learn from your critics.The world needs editors and DVF believes bloggers have this capacity.

At the end, I found myself gravitating toward her. Somehow I ended up at the front of the crowd where I decided not to ask for a picture (she seemed overwhelmed). Instead, I shook her hand and thanked her for her inspired words. It was a moment I will never forget.

In just the first hour, I found myself incredibly inspired! I couldn't believe that this was just the beginning. Keep checking back because I definitely have a lot more to share from Lucky FABB.

Need more now? Check out what I wore and what I did in the suites




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