Inside the Couture Council Luncheon, Where Diane von Furstenberg Was Celebrated as a “Force of Nature”

“All my life, I wanted to be the woman in charge—and then I became a woman in charge of a little dress,” Diane von Furstenberg told an audience at Gotham Hall as she accepted the 2026 Couture Council Award. Of course, those familiar with the designer’s story knew she was referencing the title of her 2024 documentary, Woman in Charge, which chronicles her illustrious life and journey to building a global fashion empire. 

More than 50 years after she created her groundbreaking wrap dress, the design still resonates, as evidenced by the room full of people dressed in the silhouette on Thursday at FIT/The Museum at FIT’s annual Couture Council luncheon. Martha Stewart, Narciso Rodriguez, Nicole Miller, Linda Fargo, Fern Mallis, Erin Walsh, and Candace Bushnell were among those who turned out in style to celebrate an industry icon.

Prints and patterns abounded, too. “The snake that she’s wearing is an original that we call the six sisters—it’s my very first wrap dress ever,” von Furstenberg told Vogue as she pointed out a design worn by an attendee nearby. Even the afternoon’s custom table runners, made from archival fabric by FIT Menswear students, nodded to the designer’s signature ikat print, first introduced in 1983.  

To present von Furstenberg with the award was Vanessa Friedman, chief fashion critic at the New York Times, who has known the designer for some twenty years. Friedman began her remarks by reminding the audience of von Furstenberg’s unlikely beginning, born in Brussels to a Holocaust survivor. “There are a lot of words I could use to describe today’s honoree. We call her a designer, entrepreneur, feminist, activist, philanthropist, mother, grandmother, daughter, friend, and mentor. But the term I actually prefer is ‘force of nature,’ which I know is three words. But that’s the point: it is impossible to reduce her to just one word,” said Friedman.

As von Furstenberg took the stage, the room gave her a warranted standing ovation. The mogul opened with stories from her childhood while screens behind her showed corresponding images. “My mother taught me two things: fear is not an option, and no matter what, never be a victim,” von Furstenberg said about her mother’s decision to send her to boarding school in Switzerland. A photo of the young tastemaker in a jet-set-inspired outfit boarding the plane to school appeared. “I felt so glamorous,” she said, as the audience chuckled.

During a half-hour speech, von Furstenberg reflected on major career milestones, like her first meeting with Diana Vreeland in 1970 and later being featured on the March 1976 cover of Newsweek in her innovative wrap dress. She also recalled being honored with a Lifetime Achievement Award at the 2005 CFDA Fashion Awards.