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The Belgian-born designer and fashion mogul, listed as the 68th most powerful woman in the world, has had quite a life. Born to a mother who survived the concentration camps, had two children with an actual prince, and was taking the fashion world by storm by the time she was in her late 20s. Diane von Furstenberg has been an iconic face in fashion for over 40 years. Now, in her new memoir, she is sharing what she’s learned along the way.

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Diane von Fürstenberg was born Diane Simone Michelle Halfin on December 31, 1946, in Brussels, Belgium. One of the world’s most successful fashion designers, von Fürstenberg impressed the fashion world when she introduced her now-iconic “wrap dress” for the working woman in 1972.

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Once married to Austro-Italian Prince Egon von Fürstenberg, her designs have mostly appealed to middle-class women.

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Diane von Fürstenberg was born Diane Simone Michelle Halfin on December 31, 1946, in Brussels, Belgium. Her well-to-do Jewish parents, Leon and Liliane Nahmias Halfin provided their daughter with a comfortable childhood.

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Her mother, a Nazi concentration camp survivor, imbued her with confidence and a sense of self-worth. Von Fürstenberg attended finishing schools in Switzerland, Spain, and England, and in 1965 entered the University of Madrid.

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In 1966, she transferred to the University of Geneva, where she met Prince Eduard Egon von Furstenberg, heir to the Fiat automobile fortune.

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Read more: Diane von Fürstenberg – Biography – – Biography.com