A year after marrying, Fürstenberg began designing women's clothes:  "The minute I knew I was about to be Egon's wife, I decided to have a career.
I wanted to be someone of my own, and not just a plain little girl who got married beyond her deserts.
"<ref="Maynard1977" /> After the Fürstenbergs separated in 1973, Egon also became a fashion designer.
After moving to New York, she met high-profile Vogue editor Diana Vreeland, who declared her designs "absolutely smashing".
She had her name listed on the Fashion Calendar for New York Fashion Week, and so her business was created.

In 1974, she introduced the knitted jersey "wrap dress",  an example of which, due to its influence on women's fashion, is in the collection of the Costume Institute of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
After the success of the wrap dress, Furstenberg was featured on the cover of Newsweek magazine in 1976.
The accompanying article declared her "the most marketable woman since Coco Chanel."
She launched a cosmetic line and her first fragrance, "Tatiana", named after her daughter.
The New York Times reported that by 1979 the annual retail sales for the company were $150 million.

In 1985, Fürstenberg moved to Paris, France where she founded Salvy, a French-language publishing house.
Fürstenberg started a number of other businesses including a line of cosmetics and a home-shopping business, which she launched in 1991.
In 1992, Fürstenberg sold $1.2 million dollars of her Silk Assets collection in two hours on QVC.
She credits the success with giving her the confidence to relaunch her company.

Fürstenberg relaunched her company in 1997, and reintroduced the wrap dress, which gained traction with a new generation of women.
In 1998, she published her business memoir, Diane: A Signature Life.
In 2004, she introduced the DVF by H. Stern fine jewelry collection, and launched scarves and beachwear.
In 2006, she was elected as president of the Council of Fashion Designers of America, a position she still holds.
In 2008, she received a star on Seventh Avenue's Fashion Walk of Fame.

In 2009, Michelle Obama wore the DVF signature Chain Link print wrap dress on the official White House Christmas card.
That same year, a large-scale retrospective exhibition entitled "Diane von Furstenberg: Journey of a Dress" opened at the Manezh, one of Moscow's largest public exhibition spaces.
It was curated by Andre Leon Talley and attracted a lot of media attention.
In 2010, the exhibition traveled to São Paulo; and in 2011, to the Pace Gallery in Beijing.

In 2010, Fürstenberg was awarded a Gold Medal at the annual Queen Sofia Spanish Institute Gold Medal Gala.
In 2011, DVF introduced a home collection, and a signature fragrance, DIANE.

In 2012, Fürstenberg launched her first children’s collection with GapKids  and a denim collaboration with CURRENT/ELLIOTT.

Her clothes have been worn by many celebrities including Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, Gwyneth Paltrow, Kate Beckinsale, Madonna, Tina Brown, Jessica Alba, Susan Sarandon and Jennifer Lopez.
Google Glass made its New York Fashion Week Debut at the designer's Spring 2013 fashion show.

In 2014, Fürstenberg joined the Ban Bossy campaign as a spokesperson advocating leadership roles for girls.

In 2018, the brand banned mohair use after a PETA exposé showed workers mutilating and killing goats to obtain it.
All fur, angora and exotic skins were also banned from future collections.
A year after marrying, Fürstenberg began designing women's clothes:  "The minute I knew I was about to be Egon's wife, I decided to have a career. I wanted to be someone of my own, and not just a plain little girl who got married beyond her deserts."<ref="Maynard1977" /> After the Fürstenbergs separated in 1973, Egon also became a fashion designer. After moving to New York, she met high-profile Vogue editor Diana Vreeland, who declared her designs "absolutely smashing". She had her name listed on the Fashion Calendar for New York Fashion Week, and so her business was created.
In 1974, she introduced the knitted jersey "wrap dress",  an example of which, due to its influence on women's fashion, is in the collection of the Costume Institute of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. After the success of the wrap dress, Furstenberg was featured on the cover of Newsweek magazine in 1976. The accompanying article declared her "the most marketable woman since Coco Chanel." She launched a cosmetic line and her first fragrance, "Tatiana", named after her daughter. The New York Times reported that by 1979 the annual retail sales for the company were $150 million.
In 1985, Fürstenberg moved to Paris, France where she founded Salvy, a French-language publishing house. Fürstenberg started a number of other businesses including a line of cosmetics and a home-shopping business, which she launched in 1991. In 1992, Fürstenberg sold $1.2 million dollars of her Silk Assets collection in two hours on QVC. She credits the success with giving her the confidence to relaunch her company.
Fürstenberg relaunched her company in 1997, and reintroduced the wrap dress, which gained traction with a new generation of women. In 1998, she published her business memoir, Diane: A Signature Life. In 2004, she introduced the DVF by H. Stern fine jewelry collection, and launched scarves and beachwear. In 2006, she was elected as president of the Council of Fashion Designers of America, a position she still holds. In 2008, she received a star on Seventh Avenue's Fashion Walk of Fame.
In 2009, Michelle Obama wore the DVF signature Chain Link print wrap dress on the official White House Christmas card. That same year, a large-scale retrospective exhibition entitled "Diane von Furstenberg: Journey of a Dress" opened at the Manezh, one of Moscow's largest public exhibition spaces. It was curated by Andre Leon Talley and attracted a lot of media attention. In 2010, the exhibition traveled to São Paulo; and in 2011, to the Pace Gallery in Beijing.
In 2010, Fürstenberg was awarded a Gold Medal at the annual Queen Sofia Spanish Institute Gold Medal Gala. In 2011, DVF introduced a home collection, and a signature fragrance, DIANE.
In 2012, Fürstenberg launched her first children’s collection with GapKids  and a denim collaboration with CURRENT/ELLIOTT.
Her clothes have been worn by many celebrities including Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, Gwyneth Paltrow, Kate Beckinsale, Madonna, Tina Brown, Jessica Alba, Susan Sarandon and Jennifer Lopez.Google Glass made its New York Fashion Week Debut at the designer's Spring 2013 fashion show.
In 2014, Fürstenberg joined the Ban Bossy campaign as a spokesperson advocating leadership roles for girls.
In 2018, the brand banned mohair use after a PETA exposé showed workers mutilating and killing goats to obtain it. All fur, angora and exotic skins were also banned from future collections.
Diane von Fürstenberg