In 1974, early in Diane von Furstenberg’s fashion career, she debuted the wrap dress—a fitted, feminine garment for the modern woman just joining the workplace. Within two years, she sold five million of them. Half a century later, ladies around the world are still wearing the garment. To celebrate its 50th anniversary, the Fashion & Lace Museum, in von Furstenberg’s native Brussels, has devoted an exhibition to it, and Rizzoli has filled a book with essays about and images of the dress. Von Furstenberg has been jetting around the globe since long before she designed the wrap dress. Here, she shares a few travel tips.
Last flight you took?
I came back from Europe a week ago.
What do you wear to the airport?
I wear comfortable clothes. I take my makeup off before—I don’t travel with makeup.
Check bags or carry-on only?
La petite valise, as we say in French, is the focal point of my life. I travel the lightest of anyone you’ve ever met. That’s also because I make clothes that take no room, are extremely packable, and easy to mix and match. My best design ideas have always come when I pack. One of the famous things that I say is “You know how to pack, you know how to live.” If you pack lightly, you live lightly. What takes the most room is your toiletries and your shoes, and I try to simplify that as much as possible.
Items you can’t fly without?
I always have some kind of warm scarf with me. In my bag, strangely enough, I always have jewelry, my diary, my iPad—I can’t travel without my phone and my iPad. I have my must-have medicine, which is nothing much.
How do you pass time on the plane?
I read, or I listen to a book. I’m addicted to jigsaw puzzles on my iPad. You can do a jigsaw puzzle with your own photographs, which is fun. When you do a jigsaw puzzle and you listen to a book, they are two parts of your brain that don’t conflict. It makes me feel less guilty because if I do only the puzzle, I feel like I’m wasting my time.
Are you a nervous flier?
I’m not nervous because I’m not a nervous liver. I love long flights because when you are in flight, it’s being in no-man’s-land. I love being in no-man’s-land.
I always hear people have anxiety to leave. I’ve never had anxiety to leave. I am happy to leave because it’s an adventure. I’m a very content traveler.
Advice for travelers?
Packing is such a big part of traveling. If you pack well, it means you have a clear understanding of where you are going and what you will be doing. If your bag is organized, traveling is easier.