DVF Journey of a Dress

Campaign

Challenge

Iconic designer Diane von Furstenberg was celebrating her milestone anniversary of 40 years in the global fashion industry. The brand needed to capitalize upon the moment in time, extending the relevancy of the 40 years and the designer’s impact on her industry and beyond.

Solution

The vision was to produce a multi-city and multi-platform experiential, digital, textual and visual odyssey focused on the Diane von Furstenberg history and the iconic wrap dress that started it all. As a part of the storytelling, the creative strategy engaged the brand’s history from 1972, when Diane von Furstenberg arrived in New York with a suitcase full of jersey dresses she had made at her friend Angelo Ferretti’s factory in Italy.

Two years later, encouraged by Vogue Editor-in-Chief Diana Vreeland, the distinctive design of her timeless wrap dress took the fashion world by storm, and has evolved into a multitude of much-loved variations ever since. DVF implemented a new, bespoke logo for the campaign, titled Journey of a Dress, a theme and a visual that echoed throughout the other programmatic assets: a year-long social media campaign, robust influencer partnerships, an exhibition at LACMA, a Rizzoli-published exhibition monograph, and more than ten activations in a handful of cities and countries across the world.

Image showing the outside of the LACMA building. The corner has a tall gold column and on both sides of the building there are flags showing the face of Diane Von Furstenberg.

Image showing part of the inside of LACMA.

Unmute

Image showing one of the rooms inside LACMA. There are a lot of mannequins standing in rows and lines, each wearing a different DVF wrap dress. On the floor is one of DVFs classic prints.

Unmute

As an extension of the world-traveling Journey of a Dress exhibition, Living Prints was a branded project based on a selection of the most recognizable DVF patterns, which were reproduced over 20,000 square feet and which made backdrops for performers painted, like camouflage, in the same respective patterns. The exhibit was at LACMA - Los Angeles County Museum of Art, California.

Image showing person against a black white DVF print. Their body is painted in the same print making a camouflage effect.

Image showing a wall and floor covered in DVFs yellow print. In front is a person standing who is painted in the same print.

Photo of person painted in the green classic DVF print against a wall and floor with the same print.

Paralleling the structure of the LACMA exhibition, the Rizzoli-published monograph on Diane von Furstenberg - the brand and the design maven - is segmented into three parts, each with a foreword from an iconic contemporary. The first section is a brand timeline, the second section chronicles the evolution of the influential wrap dress, and the third section features tributes to DVF paid by various artists over time, including the likes of Andy Warhol and Francesco Clemente. With photography by Helmut Newton, Annie Leibovitz, and more, and cameos by DVF loyalists like Jerry Hall, Iman, and Michelle Obama, monograph functioned to extend the longevity of the LACMA exhibit. In 2015, the project received the Clio Award for design.

Image showing the Journey of a Dress book on a gray seamless. The book is covered in fabric showing the classic DVF prints.

Image showing the book open on a gray seamless. On the pages is shown the letter Furstenberg received from Vogue.

Image showing the DVF book open showing a pink spread with two magazine covers featuring Furstenberg.

Image showing the DVF book open to a spread with a person on the left side wearing a wrap dress in a DVF print and on the other page the print is shown oversized.

In continued celebration of the 40-year mark of DVF’s game-changing wrap dress, Diane von Furstenberg took over the entirety of the street-facing window corridor at Galeries Lafayette along Boulevard Haussmann in Paris. The takeover continued at the Galeries’ main entrance, a pop-up shop inside, as well as with a billboard campaign in the Chaussée d'Antin – La Fayette subway station. The presentation culminated with an event during Paris Fashion Week.

Image showing the outside of Galleries Lafayette in Paris, France. There are large boards hanging with all of DVFs prints.

3 x 3 grid showing the DVF decorations and products inside Galleries Lafayette. The classic prints are printed in oversize and placed on floors and walls.

A cross-platform social media strategy complemented the Journey of a Dress exhibition, activation, monograph, and larger campaign. Tactics included partnerships with ten fashion influencers and brand loyalists, including Chiara Ferragni, Coco Rocha, and Emma Roberts. The trendsetters embarked on a tour of the world, outfitted in DVF. The campaign content was disseminated in a multi-channel strategy spanning a full year.

Activations took place in London, Munich, Milan, Dubai, Bangkok, Shanghai, Beijing, Tokyo, Sao Paulo and Singapore.