DVF Wrap Dress 40th Anniversary

Vogue Patterns, September/October 1976. Image via Musings from Marilyn.

Diane von Fürstenberg’s wrap dress celebrates its 40th anniversary this month. The famous dress, which officially made its debut in January, 1974, is being fêted with Journey of a Dress, an exhibition of 200 wrap dresses at the Wilshire May Company building in Los Angeles:

Image via DVF.com.

Photo: Getty Images via style.com.

Von Fürstenberg relaunched her label in 1997 after realizing that her vintage wrap dresses were enjoying a new popularity among young women. The advertising campaign for the relaunch shows Danielle Z. in different wrap dresses, including this leopard print version (click the image for a style.com article with slideshow):

Diane Von Furstenberg advertising campaign, 1998. Model: Danielle Zinaich. Image via style.com.

Vogue Patterns introduced Diane Von Furstenberg patterns with great fanfare in the fall of 1976. The designer herself modelled a wrap dress on the magazine cover, and there was even a special sew-in label and tie-in with Cohama fabrics. (More on the fabrics at The Vintage Traveler.)

Diane Von Furstenberg for Vogue Patterns printed label. Image via Etsy.

The punning headline of the 1976 magazine feature, “The Princess and Her Prints,” refers to her first marriage to Egon von Fürstenberg, of the Prussian princes of Fürstenberg (she capitalized the ‘von’ for her label):

“The Princess and Her Prints…” Vogue Patterns, September/October 1976. Image via myvintagevogue.

Vogue’s Diane Von Furstenberg patterns included several wrap dresses. The 1970s patterns were all in the Very Easy Vogue line, and most were for stretchable knits.

The long-sleeved Vogue 1548 may be worn in two ways, forward or backward. The young Renee Russo is the model:

Vogue 1548 by Diane Von Furstenberg (1976) Image via Etsy.

Karen Bjornson models Vogue 1549, a wrap dress with buttoned cuffs and optional collar. This design also works for woven fabrics:

Vogue 1549 by Diane Von Furstenberg (1976) Image via eBay.

The following year Vogue Patterns released a half-size version for petites, Vogue 1679. The first set of patterns was photographed by Chris von Wangenheim:

Vogue 1548, Vogue Patterns, September/October 1976. Photos: Chris von Wangenheim. Image via myvintagevogue.

Vogue 1549 and 1550, Vogue Patterns, September/October 1976. Photos: Chris von Wangenheim. Image via myvintagevogue.

Vogue 1610 may be made sleeveless or short-sleeved with faux cuffs. I’ve made this for Naomi, and it’s incredibly versatile:

Vogue 1610 by Diane Von Furstenberg (c. 1977)

Vogue 1853 has full, cuffed sleeves in a choice of long or elbow length. Christie Brinkley modelled the long-sleeved version:

Vogue 1853 by Diane Von Furstenberg (c. 1978) Image via the Vintage Patterns Wiki.

Vogue 2517, a colour-blocked, front-wrapped dress designed for two colour contrasts, was photographed by Patrick Demarchelier. (This one is technically a mock-wrap dress.) The model is Gunilla Lindblad:

Vogue 2517 by Diane Von Furstenberg (1980) Image via Rusty Zipper.

Tara Shannon models Vogue 1486, an ’80s wrap dress with pleated skirt, shaped hemline, and dolman sleeves:

Vogue 1486 by Diane Von Furstenberg (1984) Image via Etsy.

Discussions of the DVF wrap dress always seem to centre on questions of contemporary femininity. Even the promotional bio on the envelope flap promises dressmakers they’ll “feel like a woman”:

This Vogue Patterns editorial photo of the Vogue 1610 wrap dress similarly promotes the idea of femininity in the workplace. With the caption “Soft Dressing for Hard Schedules,” it shows Karen Bjornson, glasses in hand, being delivered flowers at the office:

“Soft Dressing for Hard Schedules,” Vogue Patterns, 1977.

I was tickled to learn that Amy Adams wears three Diane Von Furstenberg dresses in American Hustle—two vintage and one contemporary. Apparently David O. Russell was obsessed with the green print version worn by von Fürstenberg on the cover of Newsweek, and costume designer Michael Wilkinson was able to source the vintage original for the film (see Financial Times story with slideshow here, or click the image for a Variety costumes story with video):

Sydney Prosser (Amy Adams) in American Hustle (2013) Image via Variety.

Have you sewn from a Diane Von Furstenberg pattern?