‘Diane Von Furstenberg: Woman in Charge’ Review: Hulu Fashion Doctor

preoccupied Diane von Furstenberg: The lady in charge Begins with a clip from David Letterman’s late-night show, where he introduces the designer, “Welcome to the woman who reinvented clothing.” He laughs and says,Really? Reinvented the dress?” But that big claim isn’t entirely false. In the 1970s, Von Furstenberg was more than a rap dress trendsetter. Like the man who emerges in this massive first-person documentary. , the dress became the mark of a professional yet sexy independent woman.

There is so much history, which von Furstenberg retold in the film with wit and flair. The documentary’s strength, though, is its keen look at her entire stormy life. A child survivor of the Holocaust, she became a jet setter, business tycoon and philanthropist. She married a prince and then a Mughal without losing her identity.

Much of what von Furstenberg says here, she has said before, either in interviews or in her two memoirs, notably The woman I wanted to be. (2014). But in retelling his story on screen, he has an inviting style full of the confidence and self-possession that is central to his brand and which defines the documentary’s style. The film presents its subject in brilliant terms, but is also consistently charming, and is exceptionally directed by Sherman Obaid Chinoy and Trish Dalton. (Obeid Chinoy has won two Oscars for shorts and is set to direct Daisy Ridley. Star Wars: The New Jedi Order.)

The least known part of von Furstenberg’s story, supported by family photos, begins during his childhood in Brussels. Born 18 months after his mother was released from Auschwitz, she was frail and had been warned by doctors not to have children. Von Furstenberg credits his mother with the determination that has shaped his own life.

In her early 20s she married the wealthy playboy Prince Egon von Fürstenberg and recalls the cold reception her aristocratic German family gave her middle-class Jewish bride. In a line that captures her gruff tone, she says, “When I went to Fürstenberg Castle, I thought, ‘Maybe they’ll poison me.’

She was also starting to design, creating wrap tops inspired by those ballerinas wear to practice, but in bright jersey prints. In her account, fashion was merely a means to freedom, not a passion. She moved to New York, where her business flourished, and she and the endlessly philandering bisexual prince became the couple of the moment. But she was soon to be part of a couple. “Divorce was freedom for me,” she recalls.

On her own, she hit up Studio 54, and in retrospect admits to her free and easy sex life, out of sync with the times but all the more fascinating. “I was with Warren Beatty and Ryan O’Neill that same weekend,” she says. Von Furstenberg has always been unapologetic about his sexuality, a friend says, but his own comments suggest something bolder: that he thinks there was nothing to apologize for in the first place. “I was living a man’s life in a woman’s body,” she says, echoing an oft-quoted comment of her own.

Throughout the documentary, some of his famous friends, including Hillary Clinton, offer brief comments, mostly compliments rather than revealing observations. Oprah Winfrey remembers saving up to buy a Von Furstenberg dress as a young reporter. More objective voices, though rarely used, offer useful context. gave The New York Times “Diane’s dress is at the center of the history of women’s rights and women and women finding their voice in the workforce,” says fashion critic Vanessa Friedman.

The wrap dress was also affordable, which gave von Furstenberg access and made her a viable role model. Her family reveals more than her famous friends. “I don’t know if you want the word neglect or independent,” her daughter recalls of a childhood spent largely under Diane’s mother’s care. Von Furstenberg admits that as a very young mother she may not have had much time for her two children, but they were always in her heart.

More colorfully, she recalls turning down a proposed three-way with Mick Jagger and David Bowie. She thought about it, she says, thinking, “Well this is something I can tell my grandchildren about.” Obviously he told them anyway. The next thing we hear — in a sentence that suggests the film’s seamless construction — is his great-granddaughter saying that turning down the two at the height of their fame was a “truly epic” move.

IAC Chairman Barry Diller, whom von Furstenberg has been married to since 2001, talks about their relationship, which goes back to the 70s when he was head of Paramount Pictures. They miss the freedom of that era, when everyone slept with everyone else in one way or another. They were non-exclusive lovers for many years, apart, then together.

His comments seem both honest and veiled. He acknowledges public speculation that “it’s just a marriage of convenience,” but goes on to say that he and von Furstenberg know what their real relationship is. “And frankly, who cares?” What other people say. Von Furstenberg calls him his partner and says, “First he was my lover, then my friend. Barry is the constant love of my life.”

While protecting their private lives makes sense in a glossy film, Doc could have used more details about how von Furstenberg bounced back from setbacks. Instead, it passes along information that at one point his clothing oversaturated the market and he lost money. Later, when he dropped his name, we never learn how he got the agency back or the state of the company today.

Puffy though it may be, this absorbing documentary is easy to like because it presents a life and career worth celebrating.