Wrap star

Shape, Sept, 2004 by Kristina Ferrante Coleman

Legendary designer Diane von Furstenberg is a true jill-of-all-trades: First a top fashion designer, then a cosmetics queen, von Furstenberg is now the subject of a new memoir, The Wrap (Assouline Publishing, 2004, $19; dvf.com), written by close friend Andre Leon Talley, Vogue's charismatic editor at large. The book details the history of von Furstenberg's iconic wrap dress from its debut in 1973: After seeing Julie Nixon Eisenhower on TV wearing a von Furstenberg wrap top and skirt, the designer decided to combine the two pieces to create her versatile, perennially stylish dress.

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