We’ve survived the return of bell-bottoms, smiley faces and Hush Puppies. Now there’s another blast from the past that most women should welcome: the wrap dress.
That easy-care, easy-to-wear number that highlighted the fashion design career of Diane Von Furstenberg is back.
Now in Saks Fifth Avenue stores nationwide, the new “Diane” line features the wrap dress as well as a sweater dress, a shirt dress, a bias-cut swing dress, two pantsuits and two skirt suits. Items in the line cost between $200 for a dress and $500 for a suit.
The appealing features of the wrap dress 20 years ago — 5 million were sold — are still there: one-step dressing, a flattering cut, prints that call for little or no accessories and the ability to serve with equal appropriateness at work or for the evening.
Von Furstenberg said the fabric has improved — now a season-spanning 100 percent silk knit jersey — and the proportions updated for women who wore the dresses in the ’70s, but no longer look like Twiggy.
Just before starting a 10-city personal appearance tour, Von Furstenberg, who licensed away most of her business in the ’80s and has slowly come back with Silk Assets, a collection made and sold only on television, and a line for Avon, talked about herself and her return to retail.
Q–How does it feel to have a design go full circle; in, out and back in again?
A–It is so exciting. You know it’s the children of my peers who are wearing them and applauding me. It is just so gratifying.
Q–Why did you decide to bring the wrap dress back?
A–People kept asking me. Todd Oldham, Karl Lagerfeld, my daughter, Tatiana. I kept saying, “No, the women who wore them then can’t wear them now.” But then I realized it’s the young girls who are bringing them back. But I also included the shirt dress and the swing dress for the woman who wants to recapture a little of the nostalgia.
Q–As a designer, does it feel stifling to do the same thing again?
A–Oh, no. I think if Elvis were alive he would love to sing his old songs.
Q–The dresses are wraps. Will they stay closed on a windy Chicago day?
A–Certainly. Years back, do you know how many of these dresses we sold in Chicago? Do it up right and your secrets will be held tight.
Q–Where is home these days?
A–I maintain a suite of rooms in a hotel in New York and I have a house in Connecticut and an apartment in Paris.
Q–What kind of car do you drive?.
A–I love to drive and I have a Jaguar. I have always loved English cars.
Q–What your choice in luggage?
A–I use a bag that I designed. It will work very well with the dresses I have to pack because they weigh next to nothing and they can be rolled into a little ball. The weight will only come from shoes and vitamins.
Q–What was the last good book you read?
A–Right now, I’m reading a book about Tolstoy’s life.
Q–In most of your photographs and even now, your hair is long. Have you ever cut it short?
A–I did a long time ago but it felt so strange. I’m used to having something to play with.
Q–Do you color your hair?
A–I don’t dye it but I do put henna in my hair and have been for about 30 years. I’m sure there are some gray hairs in there but they are not showing right now.
Q–What do you wear these days?
A–I wear a lot of suits, which is why I wanted to put suits in the new collection. A lot of people don’t know this, but I didn’t wear the wrap dress in the ’70s. I don’t know why, but I preferred the shirt dress. I only wore the wrap for appearances or photo shoots.
———-
Von Furstenberg and co-designer, daughter-in-law Alexandra Von Furstenberg, will appear from noon to 2 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 23, at Saks Fifth Avenue, 700 N. Michigan Ave.
