1976
“At 29, dress designer and haute hustler Diane von Fürstenberg has become the most marketable female in fashion since Coco Chanel,” according to Newsweek. Fürstenberg “parlayed her titled name, her sophisticated image and her sharp merchandising talent into a design empire that projects $60 million in retail sales this year,” based in large part on the success of her signature wrap dress which “carries the cachet of the designer’s own ultra-chic image.” After expanding too quickly initially, von Fürstenberg made a comeback in the ’90s, and on March 8, released her fourth book, Own It: The Secret to Life.