Fashion icon forges newer, bolder scents

Studio lights reflecting off of the precious jewelry draped on her wrist, Diane von Furstenberg awaits our arrival, eager to share the secrets of her self-titled fragrance, Diane.

Elegant and charming, Von Furstenberg reminds you to “be the woman you want to be,” as her perfume tagline promises.

Fashion encompasses many facets of the senses, and to von Furstenberg, fragrance is “the full stop at the end of the sentence.”

Diane, introduced in September, features a mix of two different floral aromas, each with a distinct personality. “Frangipani and violet are two entirely different animals. One is a clean white flower and the other a violet … the ying and the yang,” von Furstenberg said.

Fragrance evokes a past memory or emotion. “The woods after the rain, the smell of sage, any smell in nature, really,” is what reminds von Furstenberg of home. She wants her fragrance to stamp good memories.

Diane differs from her earlier fragrance, Tatiana, mainly due to inspiration. Tatiana is more business-driven, whereas Diane was born from passion, she explained.

Hoping to produce a classic, her main purpose in this project was to bottle all her love of life, her passion, her wisdom, and all her secrets of seduction. “Fragrance has been a weapon since antiquity,” she said.

Customers lined up in Nordstrom at South Coast Plaza to purchase Diane and meet the woman behind the fragrance. Many donned in wrap dresses, women of all ages patiently anticipated their moment with the icon. “It smells beautiful and feminine and unlike anything else,” customer Brenda Foster said.

Dustin Gordon, women’s fragrance counter manager, commented that instead of a soft floral smell like Donna Karan, von Furstenberg added scents like frankincense and myrrh, creating a seductive element not present in other fragrances while keeping the flowery effect.

Ranging in size, prices vary from $45 to $110. She also includes a body lotion in her fragrance collection, all available at Bloomingdales, Nordstrom and Sephora.

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