Read Online The Woman I Wanted to Be by Diane von Furstenberg - Free Book Online Page A

Pensionnat Cuche, my boarding school in Lausanne. Isabel was from Venezuela, a bit older than I, beautiful and sophisticated. It was Isabel who had taught me how to French-kiss, practicing on mirrors. She lived with her mother and sister in Paris; her father, Juan Liscano, was a famous writer and intellectual in Caracas.
    The encounter with Isabel changed the course of my life becausethat night she took me to a party and I made my official entry into the jet set world. The party was at the chalet of the Shorto family, a Brazilian/English lady and her five gorgeous children. The music was loud, people were dancing samba, smoking, drinking, laughing, and speaking many languages at the same time. Everyone seemed to know each other. I had never experienced that atmosphere before. They took me in immediately. I became part of the group and stayed on with Isabel after my family went back home to Geneva.
    In Gstaad I met an “older man” in his midthirties who took a liking to me and never left my side for a week. His name was Vlady Blatnik. He lived in Venezuela where he had a successful shoe business. Vlady took me to dinner parties and we went skiing together every day. For New Year’s Eve, my birthday, he bought me a Pucci printed silk top with black silk pants and matching black silk boots. This was my first designer outfit. That night I turned nineteen and even though I did not feel as beautiful or glamorous as the other women in the room, I thought life had finally begun!
    Going back to Madrid to complete the school year was a bit of a downer, but during spring break Deanna and I planned a trip through Andalusia. We discovered the beauty of the Alhambra in Grenada and the magic of Sevilla. That trip was the end of my stay in Spain. I decided to continue school in Geneva where my mother was living with Hans. Deanna moved to Andalusia, and we stayed friends for a bit then lost touch.
    I called Deanna a few years ago to invite her to the opening of my new boutique in Honolulu where she now lives. We picked up where we left off, as childhood friends do. “Can you believe we are in our sixties?” I said. We laughed at the absurdity of it. I felt the same age I was when I last saw her.
    I have always tried to stay in touch with the people that were important in my life and the people that I loved. Once I love, I love forever, and there is nothing more cozy and meaningful than old friends and lovers. I’m so fortunate to have had and have so much love in my life. Without it, I would never be who I am.
    I find great happiness in my relationships with old friends, living mirrors that reflect histories of laughter and sorrow, triumphs and failures, births and deaths, on both sides.
    My closest, oldest friend is Olivier Gelbsmann, who has known me since I was eighteen. He has followed every step of my life and when we are together we don’t need to speak to know what the other thinks. Olivier worked with me very early on, worked with Egon afterward, and later became an interior decorator. We now work together on DVF décor and home products. Olivier was present when my children were born, and at every important moment of my life. He consoled each of my boyfriends when I left them. Olivier was friends with my mother, my daughter, and now my granddaughters. My friend the Greek artist Konstantin Kakanias, with whom I collaborated on an inspirational comic book, Be the Wonder Woman You Can Be, as well as other projects, has also been friends with four generations of women in my family.
    I treasure the memories I share with friends like Olivier and Konstantin. Landscapes change, people come and go, but all the landscapes, all the experiences, all the people weave into your life’s fabric. Love is not just about people you had affairs with. Love is about moments of intimacy, paying attention to others, connecting. As you learn that love is everywhere, you find it everywhere.
    Just as I collect books and textiles, I collect memories and