Fashion designer to speak at graduation Furstenberg will sign copies of her book May 22

Diane von Furstenberg

By: Rebecca Greenspan

Published: Friday, May 21, 2004

Internationally renowned fashion designer Diane von Furstenberg will address more than 1,000 Savannah College of Art and Design graduates at the 2004 Commencement Cere­mony, May 22, 10 a.m., at the Savannah Civic Center.

Diane von Furstenberg’s name is synonymous not just with a brand but also with a lifestyle of freedom and independence. She burst onto the fashion scene in 1972 with her designs for easy knit dresses, including the wrap dress. More than five million wrap dresses were sold in just five years, and the iconic dress is the subject of “The Wrap,” a book written by SCAD board of trustees member and Vogue editor-at-large André Leon Talley.

Von Furstenberg will sign her book “Diane: A Signature Life” at a special appearance at Gryphon Tea Room May 22 at 3:30 p.m. Talley also will be on hand to sign copies of his books “The Wrap” and “A.L.T.: A Memoir.”

Von Furstenberg’s success is not limited to fashion; she has also created successful cosmetics, home furnishings and publishing companies. In 1976, she opened a cosmetics shop on Madison Avenue and published “DVF’s Book of Beauty.” The following year, von Furstenberg introduced her home furnishings collection, “Style for Living.” Two years later, she licensed her dress business in order to concentrate on building her cosmetics line. In 1985, von Furstenberg moved to Paris and founded Salvy, a French-language publishing company.

Von Furstenberg was honored with the New York City Liberty Medal in 1986 for achievement of the American dream. She returned to the United States in 1990 and published three coffee-table books about the home, “Beds,” “The Bath” and “The Table.” In 1992, von Furstenberg created the “Silk Assets” collection, which was sold live on television. Five years later, she returned to retail fashion with the launch of DVF Studio and the Diane von Furstenberg line of signature dresses. She was elected to the board of the Council of Fashion Designers of America in 1999. In 2001, she opened Diane von Furstenberg the Shop, a flagship store, and Diane von Furstenberg the Theater, a venue for emerging talent, as part of her company’s West Village headquarters. Her designs are sold in more than 50 countries around the world. She recently developed and launched a new fragrance and beauty line, as well as a line of tennis wear for Venus Williams and Reebok.

Valedictorian Becki Tower and Excelsus Laureate Justin Gunther also will speak at the commencement ceremony. Tower came to SCAD from Wrentham, Mass., and will be awarded a B.F.A. in computer art, with minors in animation and drawing. Her academic achievements include a perfect 4.0 grade point average and being named to the Dean’s List each quarter. During her time at SCAD, she served as women’s basketball team captain for two years and was named a 2003 NCAA Academic All-American, the 2003 SCAD Female Athlete of the Year, the Senior Academic Female Athlete of the Year, and a NCAA Division III Jostens Trophy Top Ten Finalist for two years. Tower plans to pursue a Master of Fine Arts degree in painting at SCAD.

Gunther came to SCAD from Richmond, Va., following completion of an undergraduate degree in biology at Virginia Commonwealth University. Gunther, a historic preservation graduate student, has been involved in a number of community-oriented preservation projects, including property assessment for local residents, ornamental plaster repair at the Lucas Theatre for the Arts and a community assessment aimed at placing Savannah’s Sandfly neighborhood on the National Register of Historic Places. After graduation, he will begin his preservation career as manager of restoration at Mount Vernon Estate in Mount Vernon, Va.

Tower and Gunther also will be recognized at the annual awards ceremony May 21 at 6 p.m. at Trustees Theater, in addition to Salutatorian Moon Kim, who will speak at the ceremony.

Kim was born in Seoul, Korea, and grew up in Lawrenceville, an Atlanta suburb. She cites two trips to Korea over the past decade as sources of inspiration for her work as a photography major at SCAD. Her photographs have been exhibited in several shows, including the annual juried Foundation Studies Honors Show and “Hearts United: Artist Collaboration for Charity,” a 2002 student exhibition at the Bread and Butter Café in Savannah, which raised money for AIDS orphans in Zimbabwe. Kim has maintained a 4.0 grade point average at SCAD, and was named to the Dean’s List each quarter. She also received the Georgia Secretary of State’s Excellence in Citizenship Award for her volunteer work, which included working in a nursing home and a low-income daycare, and she has been inducted into the Alpha Pi Beta National Honor Society in art and design. After graduation, Moon plans to pursue a career as a photojournalist or magazine photographer in Chicago, New York or Atlanta.

The Outstanding Achievement Award for each major plus liberal arts and foundation studies also will be presented at the awards ceremony, as well as the Independent Creative Achievement Awards, Alpha Rho Chi, the Henry Adams Medal and the Henry Adams Certificate.

Greenspan is media relations manager at SCAD.