DALLAS, Aug 10, 2006/ FW/ --- Diane Von Furstenberg does not need any introduction. She has been a household name since 1970s when she made the cover of Newsweek magazine being name the fashion icon for the decade.

It all began with her invention of the wrap dress, a new silhouette 30 years ago, but now considered a classic and a staple in a woman’s wardrobe. Diane von Furstenberg’s place in fashion history was already signed, sealed and delivered.

But, she was not done yet. During the 1980s, when TV home shopping was at its infancy, Furstenberg added Silk Assets, a line of silk clothing that was exclusively sold on television. This was in addition to her already existing business of ready-to-wear and fragrance. Once again, she made history as a pioneer on television marketing.

Already running her own business empire, her tireless energy would not allow her to sit still. Staging her own revival of her iconic wrap dress, she reintroduced it to a new generation during the 1990s, keeping the silhouette but reworking it for a modern and contemporary lifestyle.

So, for the Gen X, who always thought that the wrap dress was something their mother would wear, were now seen sporting it, becoming a new favorite among the hip crowd.

When the 2000s rolled around, she staged another revival, this time her beauty and cosmetics line that she started during the 1970s, at the heels of her wrap dress revolution. In the early 1980s she was selling two fragrances - Tatiana (named after her young daughter) and Volcan d'Amour - and the color cosmetics line, Diane von Furstenberg The Color Authority.

Furstenberg sold the business to Beecham Pharaceuticals in 1984, and it later ended up in the hands of Revlon. In 1994, von Furstenberg repurchased the rights to her name and in 2002 she collaborated with Inter Parfums to relaunch the brand.

To many, these achievements would have been enough. But, Furstenberg’s dynamism cannot be denied. So, in 2006, she filed her candidacy for the President of the Council of Fashion Designers of America. Last July, she won the election and was immediately vested as the new President of the CFDA.

On her acceptance speech, Furstenberg emphasized on the benefits that a CFDA membership can give to a designer.

"The most important thing – and I would like this to be my legacy – is to really create an incredible network service system. I would like to go to the mayor and see what he can do for us. Our mayor appreciates that the fashion business is a huge business, and I would like to see what we could do together. We will have to talk about the endowment, and overall, create more of a brand for the CFDA, which is something I know how to do," she said.

Von Furstenberg who speaks fluent French and Italian (she actually speaks 5 languages) also plans to improve network relations between Paris and Milan.

"I know both Didier Grumbach (president of the Chambre Syndicale in Paris) and Mario Boselli (president of Camera Moda in Milan), and I want them to respect us, and I think we will be the best of all the organizations and they will look up to us," she added.

Diane Von Furstenberg

Diane Von Furstenberg

Diane Von Furstenberg

Diane Von Furstenberg

Diane Von Furstenberg

Diane Von Furstenberg