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  • MARY GROVE: Hello, good afternoon, how is everybody?

  • Excited?

  • Thank you so much for joining us.

  • My name is Mary Grove, and I'm the director

  • of Google for Entrepreneurs, and it is my tremendous honor

  • to welcome Diane Von Furstenberg back to Google.

  • Our guest today is a remarkable talent

  • who needs no introduction, but I would

  • like to share three things that I particularly

  • admire about Diane.

  • The first is that she is the ultimate entrepreneur,

  • an incredible self starter whose story really embodies

  • the quintessential American dream.

  • From Diane's arrival in New York City in 1970

  • with just one suitcase full of dresses,

  • DVF products are now sold in 55 countries around the world,

  • and has evolved far beyond the iconic wrap dress which we're

  • celebrating the 40th anniversary of this year.

  • Number two, is Diane's steadfast commitment

  • to empowering women all over the world.

  • In 2011 she established, through the Diller Von Furstenberg

  • Family Foundation, the DVF awards.

  • And these awards recognize women who show tremendous courage

  • and bravery in the face of adversity.

  • I admire everything she does to support women.

  • And thirdly, I admire her generosity and openness

  • and sharing so personally her own story,

  • her own amazing family history, her journey in establishing

  • and building a global brand that is loved around the world,

  • her personal battle with cancer which she fought courageously

  • and successfully, and her views on love and life.

  • Please join me in welcoming Diane Von Furstenberg.

  • DIANE VON FURSTENBERG: Hi.

  • MARY GROVE: Welcome, it's wonderful to have you back.

  • DIANE VON FURSTENBERG: Thank you.

  • When I came here to speak in 2005,

  • I think, they were practically no women here.

  • and I'm not sure the others knew who I was.

  • And that's definitely changed.

  • And but it was pretty amazing already,

  • but it was nothing compared to what it is now.

  • So it's fun to be here.

  • MARY GROVE: Welcome back.

  • Before we get started, I want to cue just a quick video, which

  • is the journey of the wrap dress.

  • [VIDEO PLAYBACK]

  • [MUSIC PLAYING]

  • [END VIDEO PLAYBACK]

  • So Diane, I wanted to get started

  • by talking about your roots, and you shared so much

  • of your personal journey-- you open your book by talking

  • about your mother's courageous story as a Holocaust survivor,

  • how she gave birth to you against all odds.

  • And she said to you, you are my torch of freedom,

  • and taught you that fear is not an option.

  • Can you share with us a memory of how your mother helped

  • you become the woman you wanted to be.

  • DIANE VON FURSTENBERG: Well, first of all,

  • I think my mother was, what they call today, a tiger mom.

  • Which is that, if I was afraid of the dark

  • she would lock me into the closet, which today you

  • could probably be arrested for.

  • But of course, after 10 minutes, it wasn't dark anymore,

  • because when you're in the dark for 10 minutes you can see.

  • And also you realize that there's no reason to be afraid.

  • So my mother didn't want me to be afraid.

  • And one of the reasons why she didn't want me to be afraid

  • is because of her own history.

  • At the age of 22, she was a prisoner of war

  • and she went to the Nazi concentration

  • camp of Auschwitz and Ravensbruck and a third one.

  • She came back, she weighed 49 pounds,

  • I mean, less than her bones.

  • She wasn't supposed to have survived but she did.

  • She went back home and her mother fed her.

  • Six months later her fiancee came back to Belgium--

  • he had been in Switzerland-- and they got married,

  • and the doctor said you absolutely cannot have a child.

  • Because if you have a child-- your body

  • can't handle it, and besides the child

  • will probably be not normal.

  • Well, sure enough, I was born nine months later,

  • and I was not normal.

  • And you know when-- well, you are all young

  • so you know that when your mother is very strong

  • you protect yourself from all that strength.

  • But then when your mother passes away,

  • you think a little bit more of the impact that she had on me.

  • And so I wanted to tell her story.

  • And by telling-- by doing research and telling her story,

  • I realize that I am her vengeance.

  • And I am the way I am because of that, because of what she was.

  • So I ended up writing about my mother

  • and then ended up writing about me.

  • And so this book, this memoir has been really difficult.

  • I've never gone to a therapy before, and I did that.

  • But I really opened myself, and I tell it really

  • as it is because I think that truth and honesty is certainly

  • the most useful thing you could do for yourself,

  • but it's also good to do it, to have others do it.

  • So I am glad that people are responding well to the book,

  • because otherwise I would feel terrible.

  • I would feel horrible that I open myself for nothing.

  • So I hope you enjoy.

  • MARY GROVE: Thank you for doing that, absolutely.

  • So in the business of fashion the wrap dress

  • which launched in 1974, by 1978 had sold millions already

  • throughout the nation and it was revolutionary in its softness,

  • its versatility.

  • What do you think the wrap dress symbolized then,

  • and what does it symbolize now, 40 years later.

  • DIANE VON FURSTENBERG: Well, the first thing it symbolized

  • is that I could pay my bills.

  • Which was, at the end, my first goal

  • was to be independent because my mother put it in my head,

  • and I really wanted to be independent.

  • So I became independent through that dress.

  • But because it was fashion, what now I realize-- of course I

  • didn't realize it then, but now looking back-- I

  • realize that as I was becoming independent and confident

  • and the woman I wanted to be, I was sharing it

  • to other women in fitting rooms.

  • So I was getting confident and I was selling confidence

  • through the dress.

  • So that dress, to me, I just made that dress.

  • It's not like I thought it was something

  • that will live for that long.

  • But I guess that in the sense that it

  • was my need, my own personal need for freedom.

  • The dress was good quality, it was effortless, it was sexy,

  • it was not too expensive, but it just molded you.

  • It was proper enough and sexy enough.

  • Somehow I guess that message that was done through a dress

  • really took on, and women really reacted to it.

  • And everyone in America wore that dress.

  • I mean, I was 25 and within no time at all

  • we were making 25,000 dresses a week,

  • which is 50,000 sleeves, that's a lot.

  • I remember I used to say that because it looked like more.

  • So I lived an American dream, which

  • of course, my American dream is nothing compared to a Google.

  • I mean, it was very minute.

  • But it was, nevertheless, an American dream

  • and I was a young woman.

  • MARY GROVE: So speaking of Google, and welcome back

  • to Silicon Valley, you've always been so transformative

  • and disrupting the fashion industry if you look back

  • across the last four decades.

  • You started selling your dresses on QVC and the Home Shopping

  • Network before merchandise clothing was really

  • sold on television.

  • Last year you worked with Sergey to debut Google glass in a DVF

  • fashion show, as well as launch the first shoppable Hangout

  • where consumers could purchase products live through a Google+

  • Hangout.

  • So looking now, what technologies

  • are you most excited about or do you think

  • are most critical to the success of your business?

  • DIANE VON FURSTENBERG: Well first of all, I joke always

  • and I say that I'm so happy that I am old enough

  • to have danced at Studio 54, and young enough

  • to be part of the digital revolution.

  • MARY GROVE: I saw you Instagram outside.

  • Before we came in.

  • DIANE VON FURSTENBERG: I do.

  • And so I love technology.

  • And I think it's so incredible what has happened,

  • and all the grounds that we've broken,

  • and all the things that you can do that there was no way

  • that we could dream that we could do.

  • So I am very, very into it and I love it.

  • And again, it was an accident that I presented the Google

  • Glass first in the world.

  • I mean, it was-- but it just shows you

  • that when you are young-- or not young--

  • it's important to push the doors whatever is happening.

  • And it's just because I saw Sergey

  • hiding behind a tree trying these things.

  • And I said, what are you doing?

  • And he said, come, I show you.

  • And they hadn't shown anyone.

  • This was in Sand Valley and he showed

  • me that and we started to talk.

  • And it was July and I said, Sergey have you ever

  • been to a fashion show?

  • He said, no never.

  • I said, you should come to my show in September.

  • That was it.

  • And then two or three weeks later, I get a call from Sergey

  • and he said, you know, I was thinking how

  • about showing Google Glass on the runway.

  • And I thought, oh.

  • I didn't even understand what he was talking about.

  • I said sure.

  • And what it was, it must have been

  • that day with talking marketing, and saying, how can

  • we show it to the world in the way that is not just dry tech.

  • And somebody said the word fashion,

  • and he said, oh fashion.

  • I have a friend in fashion.

  • She invited me to a fashion show.

  • And that is actually how the whole thing happened.

  • And when you read the book, it's at the very end

  • of the whole story it's at the very end of the book.

  • You'll see that that day I wasn't particularly loving

  • my show, and so anyway, Google Glass kind of saved

  • my show because-- anyway, so it's a long story,

  • but it just shows you that you always

  • have to be very wide open and curious and open to anything.

  • MARY GROVE: So on that note, in following your journey,

  • I notice that you have a unique for recognizing an opportunity

  • and then seizing the moment.

  • So one example would be in your book

  • you talk to how you had trained in Italy,

  • and you noticed this trend in Europe where t-shirts, fashion

  • t-shirts were just becoming fashionable in the Jersey

  • material, the soft material.

  • And so you brought that to America

  • and then evolved it to the wrap dress.

  • Another example would be relaunching your business

  • when you noticed that the hip young girls were

  • wearing vintage DVF dresses from the 70s

  • and relaunching the wrap dress.

  • I'm curious if you see any big new opportunities today,

  • if you think fashion startups can really do anything

  • to seize a gap.

  • DIANE VON FURSTENBERG: Oh, my god.

  • You don't need any-- you don't need me to tell you that.

  • I mean, there's so many intelligent people here

  • were looking for opportunities and pushing the ground.

  • I mean, if anything, I'm here to learn from you.

  • But it is, I think it is important to dare

  • and push and look and be curious and also when you fail,

  • you fail.

  • Then you get back up and do it again.

  • It's-- life is a journey.

  • It's a big journey.

  • And people come in, people go out, you have successes,

  • you have failures, and as long as you're true to yourself,

  • it's OK.

  • MARY GROVE: So I want to talk about the brand,

  • the global brand that has become a phenomenon.

  • And you arrived in New York and launched with the dress,

  • but ended up transforming and growing

  • the line into cosmetics, into fragrances, a home line, and so

  • much more.

  • Can you talk about the lessons you learned along

  • the way about developing DVF as a brand?

  • DIANE VON FURSTENBERG: Oh, my god, I learned so many lessons.

  • But I am not necessarily a good example of business.

  • I am an entrepreneur.

  • I am a dreamer.

  • And I'm a person who can make-- who can have an idea

  • and make it happen.

  • I'm not the best executive.

  • I'm not a CEO.

  • So the lesson that I would say is

  • that it's important to recognize your strengths and weaknesses.

  • But I mean in the book-- this book is like therapy.

  • I never went to therapy before, and this book was therapy.

  • But it shows that it doesn't matter how old you are.

  • I mean, I'm a grandmother.

  • I'm old, I have-- I came up with something that's already 40,

  • that you think that's so old.

  • And yet I still think of myself like I'm a young girl

  • and I'm starting up.

  • And I guess I'll always be like that.

  • But I think in a sense that's also my energy and who I am.

  • That's why I start again and again.

  • MARY GROVE: Love is life is love, I heard you say.

  • So in the book you talk about how you often

  • speak with young people and a favorite piece of advice

  • you give them is it's passion and persistence that matter,

  • and dreams are achievable, but there

  • are no shortcuts, and no hard work.

  • What is the best-- I want to flip that question and ask you.

  • What is the best piece of career advice

  • you received along the way, and how did that

  • impact your journey?

  • DIANE VON FURSTENBERG: I don't know.

  • I mean, The only real advice that I got from my mother

  • which I remember the most is never be a victim,

  • and never blame anyone for anything

  • even if they are blameable.

  • Just deal with it.

  • And that was great advice because resentment is toxic

  • and blaming people doesn't help anything.

  • I mean, the independence-- what my mother gave

  • me was the independence and that is really something

  • that I value so much.

  • Now what I found out by myself, and really, really early on,

  • and I am astounded that I realized that early on,

  • and that would be my advice to anyone,

  • is that the most important relationship in life

  • is the one you have with yourself.

  • I don't think I can give bigger advice, advice

  • that applies to everyone, men, women, old, young,

  • it doesn't matter.

  • Because at the end, the strength is in yourself

  • and it's not in somebody else, and it's not

  • any guy that's going to make-- It's not.

  • It's you.

  • Then if you have that relationship

  • with yourself figured out, and it's not like it

  • you figure it out and it's good forever.

  • It's practice.

  • It's every day.

  • You have to be angry with yourself,

  • and then you have to be nice to yourself,

  • and a lot of different things.

  • It's practice.

  • It's like pruning a tree, or cleaning the plumbing.

  • But once you do have that, and once you really

  • have a relationship with yourself,

  • then any other relationship is a plus and not a must,

  • and so you're not needy.

  • And I think that it's important.

  • So that's my advice.

  • Remember.

  • MARY GROVE: Most important relationship is with yourself.

  • DIANE VON FURSTENBERG: That's right.

  • MARY GROVE: So shifting gears a bit,

  • I want to talk about the future and what

  • you're focused on in the road ahead.

  • Can you tell us a little bit about your new TV show?

  • DIANE VON FURSTENBERG: Oh.

  • Yeah, so this year was very, very busy.

  • In January I celebrated the 40th anniversary

  • of the wrap dress in a big exhibition at LACMA

  • in the Los Angeles, which is now featured in this big coffee

  • table book, Rizzoli, "The Journey of a Dress".

  • Then I finished my memoir, which was very painful and very, very

  • tiring.

  • And then I also did something a little crazy, I did a TV show.

  • And it's called the House of DVF and in a sense

  • it's both to be in touch with young people

  • and also because I see what garbage that my granddaughters

  • watch on television.

  • And so how can I go to that genre and apply to that,

  • and make it fun, and make it naughty, and make it

  • informative, but at the same time

  • manage to pass some strong, empowering messages.

  • So we came up with this idea of six

  • to eight girls who come into the company

  • and they learn everything from merchandising to retailing

  • to marketing and design, and then one of them

  • will win and become a brand ambassador.

  • So we already have three episodes

  • which you could probably see online.

  • It's on E. And Sunday night at 10 o'clock

  • you can watch episode four.

  • And it's eight episodes and it will

  • end on December 20th I think.

  • MARY GROVE: Great.

  • DIANE VON FURSTENBERG: And one of the candidates

  • is from the Bay Area, but I'm not going to tell you who wins.

  • MARY GROVE: So in terms of looking ahead

  • from a business perspective, in your book you talk

  • about DVF products are sold in over 55 countries,

  • one of the more recent countries you entered was China.

  • Can you talk about your entry into the Chinese market,

  • how you--

  • DIANE VON FURSTENBERG: OK, first, first of all I love

  • China.

  • I mean I grew up reading books about China,

  • Pearl Buck, or Tenten.

  • I was always fascinated by the mystery and the strength

  • in the Wall of China, everything.

  • So the first time I went to China was 1989 or 1990,

  • and there were only bicycles in Beijing at the time.

  • So I wanted to be known-- I woke up about maybe by now

  • it's maybe four years ago, and I said,

  • I want to be known in China.

  • And so I went to China a lot.

  • And I became very friendly with a lot of people, artists

  • and writers, and bloggers.

  • And I spent a lot of time because I wanted to--

  • because when I was a young girl, even though it's funny

  • because even though I didn't think I was going

  • to be in fashion, I remember that I used to say,

  • if you sell one t-shirt to every Chinese, you make--

  • And so I already had that in my mind.

  • So I really wanted to come to China

  • and not sound like an American colonizer.

  • And so I spent time knowing the people

  • and becoming friends with them.

  • And little by little I got known in China and I have--

  • MARY GROVE: How many stores now?

  • DIANE VON FURSTENBERG: Oh I don't know.

  • I have-- I have about 40 stores I think.

  • Quite a lot in China.

  • And I have how many?

  • One million or two million followers?

  • I mean a lot.

  • So I like Chinese people.

  • I think they are smart and they they're great.

  • I totally identify and I wish I spoke the language,

  • but then again, I'm not Mark Zuckerberg.

  • MARY GROVE: So In terms of community,

  • you've been incredibly involved through philanthropy,

  • through your own family foundation.

  • More recently supported efforts like the High Line

  • in the West Side of Manhattan near the Google office

  • and a new park and art space that's called Pier 55.

  • What is your hope for where New York

  • City might be in 5 to 10 years?

  • DIANE VON FURSTENBERG: Well, let's hope

  • that it stays out of the water for one thing.

  • And you know, I always saw New York like Venice.

  • For me it's like Venice.

  • It's the center of both commerce and art.

  • Every artist in the world wants to show in New York

  • and be sold in New York.

  • So for me Venice and New York were very similar.

  • So that's why I'm very involved into the waterways.

  • And I think that we had a tendency

  • of going inland and building highways along the coast.

  • So now we're trying to the change that.

  • When I first came to New York it was very, very cheap.

  • But it was also very, very dangerous.

  • Probably goes together.

  • But at the same time, they were a lot

  • of-- because it was very cheap, there were a lot of artists

  • there and it was fun.

  • It was really, really fun.

  • Now it's different.

  • It's much more expensive, and it is different.

  • But it still has a lot of energy.

  • And I think that one of the reasons that New York has

  • so much energy is because it's built on granite.

  • So the minute you get to New York, you have a lot of energy.

  • And I'm sure Google is built on granite too.

  • Whereas Paris is built on sand, so you

  • have a tendency to kind of fall asleep.

  • MARY GROVE: Do you spend much time back in Europe now?

  • Or are you between Europe and here?

  • DIANE VON FURSTENBERG: I am European,

  • so I have a place in Paris.

  • And so it's important for me to be-- it's nice for me

  • to go to Europe.

  • But my children and my grandchildren

  • now live on the West Coast, so I have a tendency to go west.

  • MARY GROVE: Are there any up and coming designers

  • you think we should be on the lookout for?

  • DIANE VON FURSTENBERG: Well, I am

  • the president of the Council of Fashion Designers of America

  • so I am basically the mother of all designers so

  • as the mother of all designers, I can't have a favorite child.

  • MARY GROVE: You hear it here first.

  • So on that note, I am curious.

  • We talked a lot about how your story personifies

  • the American dream, you're an entrepreneur

  • with this tremendous global perspective,

  • and the way that businesses are born and grow

  • has changed tremendously in the last 40 years.

  • Even in fashion, you've seen the consolidation

  • of the large department stores, for example.

  • Do you think that it would be easier or more difficult

  • now to build a global business and brand?

  • DIANE VON FURSTENBERG: I don't think it's harder, actually.

  • I think maybe it's easier.

  • Because you have the internet, so everyone has a voice.

  • If you have the internet, you just do a website at the start.

  • So then you have a voice.

  • So I think that the internet has given everyone

  • more democrat-- democracy?

  • Democracy.

  • Even though sometimes it's a little dangerous.

  • So I think that overall, and the world is more global,

  • and also you have more mentoring systems.

  • And as the CFDA, we have an incredible program with Vogue.

  • It's called the CFDA Vogue Fashion fund.

  • And we mentor young designers and help them

  • and that has really helped enormously.

  • So I think that people are more into mentoring.

  • But of course, everything goes fast.

  • MARY GROVE: In a few moments, I'm

  • going to switch gears and take questions from the audience.

  • So if you have a question in mind,

  • please feel free to go ahead and line up.

  • So Diane, I want to talk about your legacy.

  • And you've talked about the various phases

  • of your life, how it was independence,

  • getting independence, how it was growing your business,

  • now it's sort of what legacy do you leave behind.

  • You said that when you and Joel Horowitz

  • were working on transforming the company in 2012,

  • you did an exercise where everybody defined

  • three words that exemplified the brand.

  • Those were effortless, sexy, and on the go.

  • So if you could use three words now

  • to describe the legacy you hoped DVF will leave behind,

  • what might they be?

  • DIANE VON FURSTENBERG: Well, I think

  • that my mission in life overall, business or not,

  • is really to empower women.

  • Since I empowered myself first, and after I've

  • empowered myself, it's important that I

  • feel that everyone can be the woman they want to be.

  • And so I do that through my work,

  • by making them feel sexy and attractive with the clothes,

  • but also through mentoring and philanthropy.

  • So maybe I hope to be remembered as a woman who

  • did it for herself and for others.

  • MARY GROVE: Let's take some questions from the audience.

  • If you could introduce yourself to start, that'd be great.

  • AUDIENCE: Hi, Diane.

  • My name's Connor I might be behind the camera--

  • DIANE VON FURSTENBERG: The only man here?

  • MARY GROVE: My husband is also here in the back.

  • DIANE VON FURSTENBERG: All right.

  • Who's is your husband?

  • MARY GROVE: Steve Grove.

  • AUDIENCE: The bearded one.

  • DIANE VON FURSTENBERG: Hi.

  • AUDIENCE: Well, thank you so much for coming out and talking

  • to us.

  • It's been wonderful to hear from you.

  • My question is on your advice that you

  • give about having your relationship with yourself

  • is so important and that you we're

  • astounded you found that out so early.

  • How did you find that out, and what do people

  • do on a day to day basis to help build that relationship?

  • DIANE VON FURSTENBERG: How did I find out?

  • I don't know.

  • I was fascinated by mirrors when I was a tiny, tiny little girl.

  • None that I liked what I saw in the mirror, because I

  • didn't, but I liked that I had control over that thing.

  • You if I did that, she would do that.

  • You did that, they'd do that.

  • So I think that it starts from there.

  • My relationship, it started with the mirror, I have to say.

  • But it's wasn't narcissism, because I

  • didn't like what I look like at all.

  • But I like that I had control.

  • And so it made me realize that I have control over myself.

  • AUDIENCE: That's awesome.

  • I've always tried to explain my love of mirrors to other people

  • too.

  • So I can just point them right to that clip.

  • That's perfect.

  • Thank you.

  • DIANE VON FURSTENBERG: That's very brave of you.

  • Be brave, that's right.

  • AUDIENCE: I have a question from when you first

  • emerged in the fashion scene.

  • What has been the biggest surprise to you

  • in terms of what you've seen in the fashion world?

  • DIANE VON FURSTENBERG: What is the biggest surprise

  • that I've seen in the fashion world.

  • I don't know.

  • Oh my god, I don't know.

  • I guess that there are not that many things that

  • actually surprise me.

  • AUDIENCE: It can be a specific trend.

  • DIANE VON FURSTENBERG: What?

  • AUDIENCE: It can be a specific trend.

  • DIANE VON FURSTENBERG: Oh, the big trend.

  • I don't know.

  • But the big trends, they don't appear like all of a sudden

  • it's a big trend.

  • It kind of crawls on you.

  • And if you are a designer which at the end is what I am,

  • you kind of smell it before it comes.

  • And that can't be explained.

  • That's really just the mystery of fashion.

  • AUDIENCE: So you can't be surprised, you know everything?

  • DIANE VON FURSTENBERG: No, I don't know everything at all.

  • And the you know, the more you know you know nothing.

  • No, no, no.

  • But I think it's-- maybe what I would say what surprised me

  • the most is that fashion at the end is a huge industry,

  • huge industry.

  • But it's also a very mysterious, very mysterious thing.

  • That expands not just on clothes, but food,

  • and the way people do things.

  • A little bit of a collective madness.

  • AUDIENCE: Thank you.

  • AUDIENCE: Hi, Diane, my name is Maida Felix.

  • You've talked about success, and how you sometimes failed

  • and sometimes succeeded.

  • So I was wondering if you can recall a time where you failed?

  • DIANE VON FURSTENBERG: Oh, I failed many times.

  • You've got to read the book.

  • AUDIENCE: Yeah.

  • [LAUGHTER]

  • DIANE VON FURSTENBERG: I failed many times,

  • but what I will say to you is that I never

  • dwelled on my failures.

  • I just said, OK move on.

  • This is the reality, whatever, cut your losses,

  • and then move on.

  • And then as you move on, things happen good.

  • And then you don't even realize that it all

  • started with a failure.

  • So that also was a lesson from my mother.

  • She said not to dwell on the darkness.

  • Always look for the little bit of light,

  • and build around the light.

  • AUDIENCE: And do you think-- where

  • do you find that strength?

  • Because I feel as young people, sometimes it's

  • easy to get comfortable if you have a job.

  • How can we find that strength to jump and not be afraid?

  • DIANE VON FURSTENBERG: The truth is

  • that it's not the strength that you need in order to jump.

  • You got to want it.

  • And wanting it most often starts from frustration.

  • I don't know-- I don't think I know any successful person

  • whose success didn't start first with a huge frustration.

  • AUDIENCE: Thank you.

  • DIANE VON FURSTENBERG: That is the truth.

  • AUDIENCE: Diane, my name's Emily.

  • I have a question for you.

  • So at Google--

  • DIANE VON FURSTENBERG: You have a pretty dress.

  • AUDIENCE: Oh, thank you.

  • It's designed by you.

  • [LAUGHTER]

  • So we don't have a lot of women at Google,

  • but I imagine in the professional world,

  • it's full of women and there's lots

  • of cattiness and mean people.

  • How do you handle really catty people?

  • Like, in your show?

  • DIANE VON FURSTENBERG: We aren't catty, are we?

  • No, it's-- how do you, I don't know--

  • I wouldn't waste any time on that.

  • I really wouldn't.

  • At the end, you know it's just what matters is what matters.

  • AUDIENCE: I really enjoy your show.

  • And I love the message you give.

  • DIANE VON FURSTENBERG: Oh you mean about the show.

  • AUDIENCE: Yeah.

  • DIANE VON FURSTENBERG: Well, that, you have to understand,

  • that the producers pushed them to.

  • That's the show.

  • The show they kind of say, oh come on, are you upset,

  • they-- and I get so mad when they

  • do that because I don't want that to be there.

  • So it's to create a little drama.

  • And I remember my granddaughter telling me,

  • Didi, you need drama, you need drama.

  • AUDIENCE: Thank you.

  • MARY GROVE: But you have zero tolerance for--

  • DIANE VON FURSTENBERG: No, I don't no, I don't like it.

  • AUDIENCE: Hello, my name is Firese.

  • I was wondering in your career, how much

  • were you driven by the business side

  • and how much were you driven by the artistic side?

  • DIANE VON FURSTENBERG: My first drive was to be independent.

  • So it was really to be successful financially,

  • to buy my finance independence.

  • And so I didn't even realize at the time

  • how much the creative side mattered.

  • I mean, I just used the creative side

  • in order to achieve the next thing.

  • I would like to be able to spend more time now on the creative

  • because I realize that I'm much better at that.

  • But unfortunately, you need both.

  • But I personally prefer the creative.

  • The creative is not just designing a dress.

  • It's thinking how you could sell it,

  • it's also marketing, it's a lot of that, and that I love.

  • Thank you.

  • AUDIENCE: Hi, Diane, I'm Lily.

  • So in the last few years, there's

  • been so much of a focus on, can women have it all,

  • the feminine and entrepreneurs and family life and business

  • life, and you make it seem easy.

  • DIANE VON FURSTENBERG: It's not.

  • AUDIENCE: And I'm just wondering what advice

  • you have for people trying to strike that balance

  • and go forward.

  • DIANE VON FURSTENBERG: It's not easy.

  • I mean it's not easy to-- people always

  • say how did you have a career and children and a husband,

  • and most probably the husband is the hardest.

  • And it's so unfair that I say that, because in my case,

  • it's not true.

  • I have a husband who is absolutely not hard.

  • But to combine it all is very, very difficult.

  • But the truth is I think that women are equipped--

  • I think women, we multitask before there was such a word.

  • Because we are used to handling it all and

  • do it all and everything.

  • Since we're mostly women, I always say,

  • we have our period every month, and nobody knows about it,

  • right?

  • Men couldn't handle that.

  • So I think that we're just used to-- it's hard.

  • It's hard to do it all, it's hard to have it all.

  • But it's worth it.

  • Because I think a woman should have children,

  • whether she has them or adopts them or whatever,

  • and I also think the woman should

  • have an identity outside the home.

  • So there you go.

  • Good luck.

  • AUDIENCE: Hi, Diane.

  • My name is Emily and thank you again for taking time

  • to come here and to meet all of the lovely ladies

  • and gentleman here at Google.

  • I want to share with you a little bit

  • about myself, because they do want

  • to ask you for your advice.

  • I grew up being very involved in art and design,

  • and I thought that that was something

  • that I really wanted to get into.

  • When I graduated college, we were just

  • recovering from the economic recession

  • so at that point in time my peers and I,

  • we were just happy to get a job.

  • We weren't thinking about our passion,

  • we just wanted to make sure we weren't unemployed.

  • So I got into tech, and I found my way here at Google.

  • And when Google comes calling, you don't say,

  • oh well, I don't know, I don't want to be in tech,

  • you just say hey where is the dotted line, I'm going to sign.

  • But now I definitely want to ask for your advice

  • and see if I still have a passion for art and fashion,

  • what should I do?

  • Should this be something I can pursue?

  • DIANE VON FURSTENBERG: I think that first of all you

  • have to make sure that you have to have

  • an idea that make sense.

  • And maybe you can combine your passion for art with tech.

  • And that's really how it goes.

  • You have to do something that you like.

  • Clearly.

  • But I don't know, maybe you're just a painter,

  • and you'd like to paint, and you could also be a tech.

  • I think that you have to listen to heart but also to your brain

  • and make sure that whatever you do makes sense.

  • AUDIENCE: Thank you.

  • AUDIENCE: Hi, so I'm a little bit older most of the crowd

  • here.

  • So when I'm listening to you talk about all the failures

  • you've had in your life, and for me,

  • especially since I'm kind of stuck in the start

  • over phase, through no doing of my own.

  • How do you go about the start over after the failures?

  • Do you have a ritual?

  • Because I mean, it's going to happen a lot.

  • That's part of being alive.

  • So what's your process for dealing with it after you

  • figured out you failed and you need to go onto the next step?

  • DIANE VON FURSTENBERG: Don't dwell on the negative.

  • Just don't dwell on the negative and learn from it.

  • And just be excited about starting again.

  • I mean just starting, there's nothing more fun

  • than starting because so much is unknown.

  • And the unknown is exciting, it shouldn't be scary.

  • I think it's exciting, and you just go for it.

  • I mean, this is a company where if you don't believe in

  • miracles here, then I don't know.

  • AUDIENCE: Thank you.

  • MARY GROVE: One follow up question, Diane,

  • related to that.

  • In your book you talk about you had this incredible success

  • starting so early in your twenties,

  • and then you took a brief hiatus and then decided

  • to relaunch and come back.

  • So what was the thought process where

  • you decided to start again?

  • DIANE VON FURSTENBERG: Well, I thought

  • I was finished with fashion and then I came back,

  • and I realized my brand had disappeared.

  • With that, also a side of my identity and I

  • didn't like that.

  • I mean, I've had failures, but I mean,

  • when I hear it like that, it's like overall,

  • my life has been pretty successful.

  • So what I tried to explain in the book

  • is that not everything goes right.

  • And you just make it work.

  • But there were a lot of moments that-- I mean, nobody outside I

  • was interviewed recently in London

  • by a journalist, a fashion journalist, who has known me

  • all along all through these things,

  • and he had no idea that I was going through a difficult time.

  • Because you don't say it.

  • And he read the book, and he said,

  • oh my god I had no idea, this and that.

  • So what I tried to do in the book

  • is that it's like an x-ray of how I felt.

  • And how I felt is how I felt, so outside nobody knew that.

  • MARY GROVE: We're glad you launched again.

  • Last question.

  • AUDIENCE: Hi, I'm Erin.

  • I just had a quick question.

  • There's a lot of interesting stuff going on in fashion tech,

  • particularly around democratizing luxury brands.

  • I think you yourself are on websites like Rent the Runway,

  • I don't know if that's by choice.

  • I'm just curious to see as a designer

  • if you think that those sorts of mechanisms devalue your brand,

  • or you're happy that more people are wearing them?

  • DIANE VON FURSTENBERG: I met those girls.

  • I think I was the first person that they came to see

  • and they were smart.

  • I almost hired them.

  • And again, I said about them-- I don't know if anyone knows,

  • but it's about renting clothes-- and I

  • think that they're great girls, but I'm not sure

  • that five years from now that what they're doing now

  • is exactly what they will be doing then.

  • At this point they have the largest dry cleaning business

  • in the country.

  • So it's-- but it was their way in.

  • And so we'll see where it all goes,

  • I think we all welcome that.

  • I think we all welcome that, I think it's all good.

  • AUDIENCE: Thank you.

  • MARY GROVE: Thank you.

  • DIANE VON FURSTENBERG: Even fighting fakes,

  • you know that's part of the journey.

  • MARY GROVE: So before we wrap up,

  • I'd like to close with something that I

  • like to call free word association.

  • Where I say one word, and I'm going

  • to ask you to say the first word that comes to mind.

  • Starting with fashion.

  • DIANE VON FURSTENBERG: Fashion, fashion I would say beauty.

  • Beauty,

  • MARY GROVE: Travel.

  • DIANE VON FURSTENBERG: Travel I would say adventure.

  • MARY GROVE: Belgium.

  • DIANE VON FURSTENBERG: Belgium, I would say boring.

  • MARY GROVE: Confidence.

  • DIANE VON FURSTENBERG: Confidence

  • I would say confidence is indispensable.

  • MARY GROVE: Google

  • DIANE VON FURSTENBERG: Google is Google

  • is what it sounds like it Googles.

  • MARY GROVE: Passion.

  • DIANE VON FURSTENBERG: Huh?

  • MARY GROVE: Passion.

  • DIANE VON FURSTENBERG: Passion, passion, life.

  • MARY GROVE: Role model.

  • DIANE VON FURSTENBERG: Role model, my mother.

  • MARY GROVE: And finally, wrap dress.

  • DIANE VON FURSTENBERG: Wrap dress paid my bills.

  • [LAUGHTER AND APPLAUSE]

  • Oh that, that's a little piece of the TV show.

  • MARY GROVE: Before we close, we want

  • to give everyone a sneak preview of this Sunday's episode.

  • [VIDEO PLAYBACK]

  • -Amanda come on in.

  • How are you?

  • -Good, how are you?

  • I'm literally freaking out, like shaking, my heart's beating,

  • I think my vision is like going blurry.

  • -Bronson came to see me and he say, wow you know,

  • I'm a little nervous.

  • How's it going?

  • -At times, there's like a little bit of tension.

  • -What goes on?

  • -Well I got in a little argument with Britney today.

  • She's trying to say little things to put herself

  • here and put the others below, and I don't think that's right.

  • She likes to be the boss and take charge of the situation.

  • And I've kind of just let her, but I'm

  • at the point where I-- I'm getting emotional.

  • I don't usually--

  • -No, that's OK.

  • -Thank you.

  • -You know, when I was young I didn't

  • want to be taken advantage of.

  • As I get more confident and less insecure,

  • I realize that you have to stand for who you are.

  • -Yeah.

  • -It's important, especially in the fashion industry,

  • to actually forget about the personality of the people

  • you're working with.

  • Just get the job done.

  • [END VIDEO PLAYBACK]

  • [APPLAUSE]

  • DIANE VON FURSTENBERG: Sunday at 10 o'clock.

  • And you can tweet a lot so my ratings go up.

  • MARY GROVE: Before we close, I wanted

  • to share with everyone there are copies of Diane's two

  • new books.

  • One is the memoir, "The Woman I Wanted To Be."

  • I can't recommend it highly enough.

  • I loved reading every word.

  • And the second is this beautiful coffee table book,

  • called "The Journey of a Dress."

  • And Diane will be with us a bit longer to sign them.

  • DIANE VON FURSTENBERG: If you have the book on your laps,

  • can you bring it up like that so I could take a nice picture?

  • All right.

  • Thank you.

  • MARY GROVE: Give a very warm thank you.

  • [APPLAUSE]

  • [MUSIC PLAYING]

MARY GROVE: Hello, good afternoon, how is everybody?

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