The Woman I Wanted to Be (30 page)

Off I went in my little rental Mercedes. As I drove down Sunset Boulevard, turning on Fairfax, I checked myself in the mirror and winked. As I arrived at Wilshire, I saw the huge building with large banners of my face by Warhol all around it. “Dianette,” I told myself in French, “Your whole life is in that box!” I smiled.

Walking into the long time-line gallery, my clothes over my arm, I felt like the Diane who used to love walking into Studio 54 alone, feeling like a pioneer in a saloon, confident, with the desire to conquer . . . a man’s life in a woman’s body.

I went into the back office where, in the chaos of the last-minute preparations, I changed into a little black-and-white dress, nude fishnet stockings, and high-heeled sandals . . . feel like a woman, wear a dress!

Inside my shoe, for good luck, I scotch-taped one of my father’s gold coins, the ones he smuggled into Switzerland in 1942. For a moment, I closed my eyes and I felt thankful.

Thankful to God for having saved my mother,

To my mother for giving me life,

To my children for being who they are,

To Barry for always being there for me.

I
was then ready for the day, ready to honor the little dress that started it all.

E
veryone came to the party. Like a cast at the end of a movie, all the actors of my life showed up.

My modern family first: Barry; my children, Alexandre and Tatiana, with their significant others; Ali Kay; Russell Steinberg; Francesca Gregorini; Alexandra and her companion, Dax. My granddaughter Antonia was unfortunately at boarding school and Leon was too small to show up, but Tassilo was there with Talita and her friends, who represented the new generation of wrap girls in their DVF/Andy Warhol dresses. My brother, Philippe, his wife, Greta, and his daughters Sarah and Kelly flew in from Belgium; Martin Muller from San Francisco; Ginevra Elkann from Rome; Olivier Gelbsmann and Hamilton South from New York; Konstantine Kakanias and Nona Summers.

TV host extraordinaire Andy Cohen and model Coco Rocha welcomed all the guests on the red carpet, and we live-streamed their arrival. California governor Jerry Brown and his wife, Anne, followed by my fashion friends Anna Wintour, André Leon Talley, and Hamish Bowles. Then came my actor friends, Gwyneth Paltrow; Raquel Welch; Demi Moore; Rooney Mara; Robin Wright and her daughter, Shauna; Tobey Maguire and his designer wife, Jennifer Meyer; Julie Delpy; Ed Norton; Seth Meyers; Allison Williams; and the Hilton sisters. Hollywood aristocracy was represented by David Geffen, Bryan Lourd, Sandy Gallin, and many more. My American friends Anderson Cooper, restaurateur Bruce Bozzi, Amazon’s Jeff Bezos and his wife; CFDA’s Steven Kolb; Alyse Nelson from Vital Voices; Vito Schnabel; Dustin Yellin and Bob Colacello; Linda Bird Francke. Joel Horowitz led the DVF contingent with Stefani Greenfield and many DVF executives, as well as Ellen, my loyal assistant who came back to my side as my chief of staff. My first boss, Albert Koski, and his wife,
Danièle Thompson, flew in from Paris, as did Christian Louboutin, François-Marie Banier, Martin d’Orgeval, and Johnny Pigozzi.

The exhibit was a huge success and lasted for four months. Almost 100,000 visitors, tens of thousands of posts on social media, rave reviews from all over the world. Even the most critical fashion experts loved it and acknowledged the undeniable timelessness of the dress and its infinite versatility. It was no longer just about the past, but also about the future.

It had a great impact on the business and created a demand for the wraps for yet another generation. But for all the effects it had on others, the most surprising and exciting is the effect it had on me. Seeing the body of my work in that show made me so proud and, for the first time ever, I felt totally legitimate. It propelled me into what I call the new era, the next chapter of my company that will last after me.

Like my life, my work has been a wonderful adventure. It allowed me to become the woman I wanted to be as I helped other women to feel the same. I went into it looking for confidence and spread confidence along the way.

I
don’t know if I have reached wisdom, but hopefully my experiences, told with all the honesty and candor I could find in my heart and in my memory, will inspire others to take their lives in their hands, be their best friends, and go for it fearlessly.

As a toddler, curious already.

As a baby with my parents.

My mother and I waiting for the Orient Express, the first time I had my photo in a magazine.

My parents on their wedding day, November 29, 1945.

My parents going to a party, 1958.

With my baby brother, Philippe, in 1953.

My young father on his bicycle.

My father, Leon.

Age three, pretending to read the newspaper.