Egon von Fürstenberg
Encyclopedia
Egon von Fürstenberg or Prince Egon of Fürstenberg (29 June 1946 – 11 June 2004) was a fashion design
er.
's chairman, Gianni Agnelli
. His stepmother was the Texas oil heiress Dr. Cecilie Amelia Hudson, née Blaffer.
The House of Fürstenberg
is an ancient German family which reign
ed over a small principality within the Holy Roman Empire
until mediatized
in 1806, henceforth retaining their official princely status until the fall of the German Empire
, in 1918 and thereafter maintaining aristocratic eminence through continued ownership of vast estates. Although zu rather than von is the predicate
attached to the family's princely title (denoting that the family retained possession of, not merely past or nominal association with—the Fürstenberg family seat
), Egon and his sister chose to use the more familiar von for career purposes.
His sister is the actress and socialite Princess Ira von Fürstenberg
, whose first husband, Prince Alfonso of Hohenlohe-Langenburg, was founder of the Marbella Club Hotel
. His former wife is the fashion designer Diane von Fürstenberg
. He also has a younger brother, Prince Sebastian. He was first cousin of Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic
Karel Schwarzenberg
.
Egon's branch of the family descends from both Stéphanie de Beauharnais
and the 18th-century English eccentric William Thomas Beckford
.
in Switzerland. Brought up in great privilege in Venice, Italy, he was baptized by the future Pope John XXIII
.
Fürstenberg began his career as a buyer for Macy's
, and took night classes at the Fashion Institute of Technology
.
Egon von Fürstenberg or Prince Egon of Fürstenberg (29 June 1946 – 11 June 2004) was a fashion design
er.
's chairman, Gianni Agnelli
. His stepmother was the Texas oil heiress Dr. Cecilie Amelia Hudson, née Blaffer.
The House of Fürstenberg
is an ancient German family which reign
ed over a small principality within the Holy Roman Empire
until mediatized
in 1806, henceforth retaining their official princely status until the fall of the German Empire
, in 1918 and thereafter maintaining aristocratic eminence through continued ownership of vast estates. Although zu rather than von is the predicate
attached to the family's princely title (denoting that the family retained possession of, not merely past or nominal association with—the Fürstenberg family seat
), Egon and his sister chose to use the more familiar von for career purposes.
His sister is the actress and socialite Princess Ira von Fürstenberg
, whose first husband, Prince Alfonso of Hohenlohe-Langenburg, was founder of the Marbella Club Hotel
. His former wife is the fashion designer Diane von Fürstenberg
. He also has a younger brother, Prince Sebastian. He was first cousin of Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic
Karel Schwarzenberg
.
Egon's branch of the family descends from both Stéphanie de Beauharnais
and the 18th-century English eccentric William Thomas Beckford
.
in Switzerland. Brought up in great privilege in Venice, Italy, he was baptized by the future Pope John XXIII
.
Fürstenberg began his career as a buyer for Macy's
, and took night classes at the Fashion Institute of Technology
.
Egon von Fürstenberg or Prince Egon of Fürstenberg (29 June 1946 – 11 June 2004) was a fashion design
er.
's chairman, Gianni Agnelli
. His stepmother was the Texas oil heiress Dr. Cecilie Amelia Hudson, née Blaffer.
The House of Fürstenberg
is an ancient German family which reign
ed over a small principality within the Holy Roman Empire
until mediatized
in 1806, henceforth retaining their official princely status until the fall of the German Empire
, in 1918 and thereafter maintaining aristocratic eminence through continued ownership of vast estates. Although zu rather than von is the predicate
attached to the family's princely title (denoting that the family retained possession of, not merely past or nominal association with—the Fürstenberg family seat
), Egon and his sister chose to use the more familiar von for career purposes.
His sister is the actress and socialite Princess Ira von Fürstenberg
, whose first husband, Prince Alfonso of Hohenlohe-Langenburg, was founder of the Marbella Club Hotel
. His former wife is the fashion designer Diane von Fürstenberg
. He also has a younger brother, Prince Sebastian. He was first cousin of Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic
Karel Schwarzenberg
.
Egon's branch of the family descends from both Stéphanie de Beauharnais
and the 18th-century English eccentric William Thomas Beckford
.
in Switzerland. Brought up in great privilege in Venice, Italy, he was baptized by the future Pope John XXIII
.
Fürstenberg began his career as a buyer for Macy's
, and took night classes at the Fashion Institute of Technology
.The Original Von Furstenberg, Egon, Wakes Up to His Own Potential, People
, 21 December 1981 He began designing clothes for plus-size women, and later expanded to full fashion and ready-to-wear lines, including fragrances, product licensing and a haute couture
line based in Rome.
On 16 July 1969 at Montfort l'Amaury, Yvelines, France, he married the Belgium-born Diane Simone Michelle Halfin
, daughter of a Holocaust survivor. She was Jewish and pregnant, and the senior Fürstenbergs objected to the couple's union for those reasons. They had two children, Prince Alexander von Furstenberg (b. 25 January 1970) and Princess Tatiana Desirée
(b. 16 February 1971), and were divorced in 1972. His wife opened her own fashion house at Egon's urging, where she created the iconic "wrap dress", launching a career as designer that pre-dated and arguably eclipsed Egon's.
Diane later married media mogul Barry Diller
(2001). In 1983 Egon married a Mississippi native, Lynn Marshall (born ca. 1950). They had no children.
Fürstenberg wrote two top selling books: The Power Look,Von Fürstenberg, Egon. (1978) The Power Look, New York: Holt, Rinehart, and Winston, ISBN 0030204569 (ISBN 9780030204562) a guide to fashion and good taste, and The Power Look at Home: Decorating for Men,Von Fürstenberg, Egon. (1980) The Power Look at Home: Decorating for Men, New York: Morrow, ISBN 068803599X (ISBN 9780688035990) a book on home furnishings. He created an interior design
firm in 1981. His collection of art included works by artist Zachary Selig
.Quinn, Joan A. "Click: Zachary Selig honors Prince Egon von Furstenberg." The Herald Examiner, January 26, 1989.
Egon von Fürstenberg died at Spallanzani Hospital in Rome. According to the New York Post
, Fürstenberg's widow stated that he died of liver cancer
caused by a hepatitis C
infection picked up in the 1970s.
Fürstenberg had earlier intimated in a New York Magazine article that he was bisexual. In June 2000 he then made his 'coming out
' as a bisexual in an interview published by the Italian
daily newspaper La Repubblica
Fashion design
Fashion design is the art of the application of design and aesthetics or natural beauty to clothing and accessories. Fashion design is influenced by cultural and social latitudes, and has varied over time and place. Fashion designers work in a number of ways in designing clothing and accessories....
er.
Family
Eduard Egon Peter Paul Giovanni Prinz zu Fürstenberg was the elder son of Prince Tassilo zu Fürstenberg (1903–1989) and his first wife, Clara Agnelli (born 1920), a sister of FiatFiat
FIAT, an acronym for Fabbrica Italiana Automobili Torino , is an Italian automobile manufacturer, engine manufacturer, financial, and industrial group based in Turin in the Italian region of Piedmont. Fiat was founded in 1899 by a group of investors including Giovanni Agnelli...
's chairman, Gianni Agnelli
Gianni Agnelli
Giovanni Agnelli , better known as Gianni Agnelli , was an Italian industrialist and principal shareholder of Fiat. As the head of Fiat, he controlled 4.4% of Italy's GDP, 3.1% of its industrial workforce, and 16.5% of its industrial investment in research...
. His stepmother was the Texas oil heiress Dr. Cecilie Amelia Hudson, née Blaffer.
The House of Fürstenberg
Fürstenberg (princely family)
Fürstenberg is the name of a noble house in Germany, based primarily in southern Baden-Württemberg. The family derives its name from the fortified town of the line's founder, Count Heinrich von Fürstenberg, today part of Hüfingen...
is an ancient German family which reign
Reign
A reign is the term used to describe the period of a person's or dynasty's occupation of the office of monarch of a nation or of a people . In most hereditary monarchies and some elective monarchies A reign is the term used to describe the period of a person's or dynasty's occupation of the office...
ed over a small principality within the Holy Roman Empire
Holy Roman Empire
The Holy Roman Empire was a realm that existed from 962 to 1806 in Central Europe.It was ruled by the Holy Roman Emperor. Its character changed during the Middle Ages and the Early Modern period, when the power of the emperor gradually weakened in favour of the princes...
until mediatized
German Mediatisation
The German Mediatisation was the series of mediatisations and secularisations that occurred in Germany between 1795 and 1814, during the latter part of the era of the French Revolution and then the Napoleonic Era....
in 1806, henceforth retaining their official princely status until the fall of the German Empire
German Empire
The German Empire refers to Germany during the "Second Reich" period from the unification of Germany and proclamation of Wilhelm I as German Emperor on 18 January 1871, to 1918, when it became a federal republic after defeat in World War I and the abdication of the Emperor, Wilhelm II.The German...
, in 1918 and thereafter maintaining aristocratic eminence through continued ownership of vast estates. Although zu rather than von is the predicate
Predicate (grammar)
There are two competing notions of the predicate in theories of grammar. Traditional grammar tends to view a predicate as one of two main parts of a sentence, the other being the subject, which the predicate modifies. The other understanding of predicates is inspired from work in predicate calculus...
attached to the family's princely title (denoting that the family retained possession of, not merely past or nominal association with—the Fürstenberg family seat
Family seat
A seat or family seat is the principal residence of a family. The residence usually denotes the social, economic, political, or historic connection of the family within a given area. Some families took their dynasty name from their family seat , or named their family seat after their own dynasty...
), Egon and his sister chose to use the more familiar von for career purposes.
His sister is the actress and socialite Princess Ira von Fürstenberg
Ira von Fürstenberg
Princess Virginia of Fürstenberg is a European socialite, actress, jewelry designer, and a former public relations manager for the fashion designer Valentino Garavani.-Background:...
, whose first husband, Prince Alfonso of Hohenlohe-Langenburg, was founder of the Marbella Club Hotel
Marbella Club Hotel
The Marbella Club Hotel is a hotel in Marbella, Spain. Guests have included Ava Gardner, Audrey Hepburn, Cary Grant and Laurence Olivier.The hotel is located on the Southern Spanish Costa del Sol, on the "Golden Mile" near Old Town Marbella and Puerto Banús....
. His former wife is the fashion designer Diane von Fürstenberg
Diane von Fürstenberg
Diane von Fürstenberg, formerly Princess Diane of Fürstenberg , is a Belgian-American fashion designer best known for her iconic wrap dress. She initially rose to prominence when she married into the German princely House of Fürstenberg, as the wife of Prince Egon of Fürstenberg...
. He also has a younger brother, Prince Sebastian. He was first cousin of Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic
Minister of Foreign Affairs (Czech Republic)
The Minister of Foreign Affairs is the head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic and handles foreign policy of the Czech Republic.- Ministers of Foreign Affairs :...
Karel Schwarzenberg
Karel Schwarzenberg
Karel Schwarzenberg or Karel, Prince of Schwarzenberg , 7...
.
Egon's branch of the family descends from both Stéphanie de Beauharnais
Stéphanie de Beauharnais
Stéphanie, Grand Duchess of Baden was the consort of Karl, Grand Duke of Baden.-Biography:...
and the 18th-century English eccentric William Thomas Beckford
William Thomas Beckford
William Thomas Beckford , usually known as William Beckford, was an English novelist, a profligate and consummately knowledgeable art collector and patron of works of decorative art, a critic, travel writer and sometime politician, reputed to be the richest commoner in England...
.
Life
Egon von Fürstenberg was born at LausanneLausanne
Lausanne is a city in Romandy, the French-speaking part of Switzerland, and is the capital of the canton of Vaud. The seat of the district of Lausanne, the city is situated on the shores of Lake Geneva . It faces the French town of Évian-les-Bains, with the Jura mountains to its north-west...
in Switzerland. Brought up in great privilege in Venice, Italy, he was baptized by the future Pope John XXIII
Pope John XXIII
-Papal election:Following the death of Pope Pius XII in 1958, Roncalli was elected Pope, to his great surprise. He had even arrived in the Vatican with a return train ticket to Venice. Many had considered Giovanni Battista Montini, Archbishop of Milan, a possible candidate, but, although archbishop...
.
Fürstenberg began his career as a buyer for Macy's
Macy's
Macy's is a U.S. chain of mid-to-high range department stores. In addition to its flagship Herald Square location in New York City, the company operates over 800 stores in the United States...
, and took night classes at the Fashion Institute of Technology
Fashion Institute of Technology
The Fashion Institute of Technology, generally known as FIT, is a State University of New York college of art, business, design, and technology connected to the fashion industry, with an urban campus located on West 27th Street between Seventh and Eighth Avenues in the Chelsea neighborhood of...
.
Egon von Fürstenberg or Prince Egon of Fürstenberg (29 June 1946 – 11 June 2004) was a fashion design
Fashion design
Fashion design is the art of the application of design and aesthetics or natural beauty to clothing and accessories. Fashion design is influenced by cultural and social latitudes, and has varied over time and place. Fashion designers work in a number of ways in designing clothing and accessories....
er.
Family
Eduard Egon Peter Paul Giovanni Prinz zu Fürstenberg was the elder son of Prince Tassilo zu Fürstenberg (1903–1989) and his first wife, Clara Agnelli (born 1920), a sister of FiatFiat
FIAT, an acronym for Fabbrica Italiana Automobili Torino , is an Italian automobile manufacturer, engine manufacturer, financial, and industrial group based in Turin in the Italian region of Piedmont. Fiat was founded in 1899 by a group of investors including Giovanni Agnelli...
's chairman, Gianni Agnelli
Gianni Agnelli
Giovanni Agnelli , better known as Gianni Agnelli , was an Italian industrialist and principal shareholder of Fiat. As the head of Fiat, he controlled 4.4% of Italy's GDP, 3.1% of its industrial workforce, and 16.5% of its industrial investment in research...
. His stepmother was the Texas oil heiress Dr. Cecilie Amelia Hudson, née Blaffer.
The House of Fürstenberg
Fürstenberg (princely family)
Fürstenberg is the name of a noble house in Germany, based primarily in southern Baden-Württemberg. The family derives its name from the fortified town of the line's founder, Count Heinrich von Fürstenberg, today part of Hüfingen...
is an ancient German family which reign
Reign
A reign is the term used to describe the period of a person's or dynasty's occupation of the office of monarch of a nation or of a people . In most hereditary monarchies and some elective monarchies A reign is the term used to describe the period of a person's or dynasty's occupation of the office...
ed over a small principality within the Holy Roman Empire
Holy Roman Empire
The Holy Roman Empire was a realm that existed from 962 to 1806 in Central Europe.It was ruled by the Holy Roman Emperor. Its character changed during the Middle Ages and the Early Modern period, when the power of the emperor gradually weakened in favour of the princes...
until mediatized
German Mediatisation
The German Mediatisation was the series of mediatisations and secularisations that occurred in Germany between 1795 and 1814, during the latter part of the era of the French Revolution and then the Napoleonic Era....
in 1806, henceforth retaining their official princely status until the fall of the German Empire
German Empire
The German Empire refers to Germany during the "Second Reich" period from the unification of Germany and proclamation of Wilhelm I as German Emperor on 18 January 1871, to 1918, when it became a federal republic after defeat in World War I and the abdication of the Emperor, Wilhelm II.The German...
, in 1918 and thereafter maintaining aristocratic eminence through continued ownership of vast estates. Although zu rather than von is the predicate
Predicate (grammar)
There are two competing notions of the predicate in theories of grammar. Traditional grammar tends to view a predicate as one of two main parts of a sentence, the other being the subject, which the predicate modifies. The other understanding of predicates is inspired from work in predicate calculus...
attached to the family's princely title (denoting that the family retained possession of, not merely past or nominal association with—the Fürstenberg family seat
Family seat
A seat or family seat is the principal residence of a family. The residence usually denotes the social, economic, political, or historic connection of the family within a given area. Some families took their dynasty name from their family seat , or named their family seat after their own dynasty...
), Egon and his sister chose to use the more familiar von for career purposes.
His sister is the actress and socialite Princess Ira von Fürstenberg
Ira von Fürstenberg
Princess Virginia of Fürstenberg is a European socialite, actress, jewelry designer, and a former public relations manager for the fashion designer Valentino Garavani.-Background:...
, whose first husband, Prince Alfonso of Hohenlohe-Langenburg, was founder of the Marbella Club Hotel
Marbella Club Hotel
The Marbella Club Hotel is a hotel in Marbella, Spain. Guests have included Ava Gardner, Audrey Hepburn, Cary Grant and Laurence Olivier.The hotel is located on the Southern Spanish Costa del Sol, on the "Golden Mile" near Old Town Marbella and Puerto Banús....
. His former wife is the fashion designer Diane von Fürstenberg
Diane von Fürstenberg
Diane von Fürstenberg, formerly Princess Diane of Fürstenberg , is a Belgian-American fashion designer best known for her iconic wrap dress. She initially rose to prominence when she married into the German princely House of Fürstenberg, as the wife of Prince Egon of Fürstenberg...
. He also has a younger brother, Prince Sebastian. He was first cousin of Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic
Minister of Foreign Affairs (Czech Republic)
The Minister of Foreign Affairs is the head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic and handles foreign policy of the Czech Republic.- Ministers of Foreign Affairs :...
Karel Schwarzenberg
Karel Schwarzenberg
Karel Schwarzenberg or Karel, Prince of Schwarzenberg , 7...
.
Egon's branch of the family descends from both Stéphanie de Beauharnais
Stéphanie de Beauharnais
Stéphanie, Grand Duchess of Baden was the consort of Karl, Grand Duke of Baden.-Biography:...
and the 18th-century English eccentric William Thomas Beckford
William Thomas Beckford
William Thomas Beckford , usually known as William Beckford, was an English novelist, a profligate and consummately knowledgeable art collector and patron of works of decorative art, a critic, travel writer and sometime politician, reputed to be the richest commoner in England...
.
Life
Egon von Fürstenberg was born at LausanneLausanne
Lausanne is a city in Romandy, the French-speaking part of Switzerland, and is the capital of the canton of Vaud. The seat of the district of Lausanne, the city is situated on the shores of Lake Geneva . It faces the French town of Évian-les-Bains, with the Jura mountains to its north-west...
in Switzerland. Brought up in great privilege in Venice, Italy, he was baptized by the future Pope John XXIII
Pope John XXIII
-Papal election:Following the death of Pope Pius XII in 1958, Roncalli was elected Pope, to his great surprise. He had even arrived in the Vatican with a return train ticket to Venice. Many had considered Giovanni Battista Montini, Archbishop of Milan, a possible candidate, but, although archbishop...
.
Fürstenberg began his career as a buyer for Macy's
Macy's
Macy's is a U.S. chain of mid-to-high range department stores. In addition to its flagship Herald Square location in New York City, the company operates over 800 stores in the United States...
, and took night classes at the Fashion Institute of Technology
Fashion Institute of Technology
The Fashion Institute of Technology, generally known as FIT, is a State University of New York college of art, business, design, and technology connected to the fashion industry, with an urban campus located on West 27th Street between Seventh and Eighth Avenues in the Chelsea neighborhood of...
.
Egon von Fürstenberg or Prince Egon of Fürstenberg (29 June 1946 – 11 June 2004) was a fashion design
Fashion design
Fashion design is the art of the application of design and aesthetics or natural beauty to clothing and accessories. Fashion design is influenced by cultural and social latitudes, and has varied over time and place. Fashion designers work in a number of ways in designing clothing and accessories....
er.
Family
Eduard Egon Peter Paul Giovanni Prinz zu Fürstenberg was the elder son of Prince Tassilo zu Fürstenberg (1903–1989) and his first wife, Clara Agnelli (born 1920), a sister of FiatFiat
FIAT, an acronym for Fabbrica Italiana Automobili Torino , is an Italian automobile manufacturer, engine manufacturer, financial, and industrial group based in Turin in the Italian region of Piedmont. Fiat was founded in 1899 by a group of investors including Giovanni Agnelli...
's chairman, Gianni Agnelli
Gianni Agnelli
Giovanni Agnelli , better known as Gianni Agnelli , was an Italian industrialist and principal shareholder of Fiat. As the head of Fiat, he controlled 4.4% of Italy's GDP, 3.1% of its industrial workforce, and 16.5% of its industrial investment in research...
. His stepmother was the Texas oil heiress Dr. Cecilie Amelia Hudson, née Blaffer.
The House of Fürstenberg
Fürstenberg (princely family)
Fürstenberg is the name of a noble house in Germany, based primarily in southern Baden-Württemberg. The family derives its name from the fortified town of the line's founder, Count Heinrich von Fürstenberg, today part of Hüfingen...
is an ancient German family which reign
Reign
A reign is the term used to describe the period of a person's or dynasty's occupation of the office of monarch of a nation or of a people . In most hereditary monarchies and some elective monarchies A reign is the term used to describe the period of a person's or dynasty's occupation of the office...
ed over a small principality within the Holy Roman Empire
Holy Roman Empire
The Holy Roman Empire was a realm that existed from 962 to 1806 in Central Europe.It was ruled by the Holy Roman Emperor. Its character changed during the Middle Ages and the Early Modern period, when the power of the emperor gradually weakened in favour of the princes...
until mediatized
German Mediatisation
The German Mediatisation was the series of mediatisations and secularisations that occurred in Germany between 1795 and 1814, during the latter part of the era of the French Revolution and then the Napoleonic Era....
in 1806, henceforth retaining their official princely status until the fall of the German Empire
German Empire
The German Empire refers to Germany during the "Second Reich" period from the unification of Germany and proclamation of Wilhelm I as German Emperor on 18 January 1871, to 1918, when it became a federal republic after defeat in World War I and the abdication of the Emperor, Wilhelm II.The German...
, in 1918 and thereafter maintaining aristocratic eminence through continued ownership of vast estates. Although zu rather than von is the predicate
Predicate (grammar)
There are two competing notions of the predicate in theories of grammar. Traditional grammar tends to view a predicate as one of two main parts of a sentence, the other being the subject, which the predicate modifies. The other understanding of predicates is inspired from work in predicate calculus...
attached to the family's princely title (denoting that the family retained possession of, not merely past or nominal association with—the Fürstenberg family seat
Family seat
A seat or family seat is the principal residence of a family. The residence usually denotes the social, economic, political, or historic connection of the family within a given area. Some families took their dynasty name from their family seat , or named their family seat after their own dynasty...
), Egon and his sister chose to use the more familiar von for career purposes.
His sister is the actress and socialite Princess Ira von Fürstenberg
Ira von Fürstenberg
Princess Virginia of Fürstenberg is a European socialite, actress, jewelry designer, and a former public relations manager for the fashion designer Valentino Garavani.-Background:...
, whose first husband, Prince Alfonso of Hohenlohe-Langenburg, was founder of the Marbella Club Hotel
Marbella Club Hotel
The Marbella Club Hotel is a hotel in Marbella, Spain. Guests have included Ava Gardner, Audrey Hepburn, Cary Grant and Laurence Olivier.The hotel is located on the Southern Spanish Costa del Sol, on the "Golden Mile" near Old Town Marbella and Puerto Banús....
. His former wife is the fashion designer Diane von Fürstenberg
Diane von Fürstenberg
Diane von Fürstenberg, formerly Princess Diane of Fürstenberg , is a Belgian-American fashion designer best known for her iconic wrap dress. She initially rose to prominence when she married into the German princely House of Fürstenberg, as the wife of Prince Egon of Fürstenberg...
. He also has a younger brother, Prince Sebastian. He was first cousin of Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic
Minister of Foreign Affairs (Czech Republic)
The Minister of Foreign Affairs is the head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic and handles foreign policy of the Czech Republic.- Ministers of Foreign Affairs :...
Karel Schwarzenberg
Karel Schwarzenberg
Karel Schwarzenberg or Karel, Prince of Schwarzenberg , 7...
.
Egon's branch of the family descends from both Stéphanie de Beauharnais
Stéphanie de Beauharnais
Stéphanie, Grand Duchess of Baden was the consort of Karl, Grand Duke of Baden.-Biography:...
and the 18th-century English eccentric William Thomas Beckford
William Thomas Beckford
William Thomas Beckford , usually known as William Beckford, was an English novelist, a profligate and consummately knowledgeable art collector and patron of works of decorative art, a critic, travel writer and sometime politician, reputed to be the richest commoner in England...
.
Life
Egon von Fürstenberg was born at LausanneLausanne
Lausanne is a city in Romandy, the French-speaking part of Switzerland, and is the capital of the canton of Vaud. The seat of the district of Lausanne, the city is situated on the shores of Lake Geneva . It faces the French town of Évian-les-Bains, with the Jura mountains to its north-west...
in Switzerland. Brought up in great privilege in Venice, Italy, he was baptized by the future Pope John XXIII
Pope John XXIII
-Papal election:Following the death of Pope Pius XII in 1958, Roncalli was elected Pope, to his great surprise. He had even arrived in the Vatican with a return train ticket to Venice. Many had considered Giovanni Battista Montini, Archbishop of Milan, a possible candidate, but, although archbishop...
.
Fürstenberg began his career as a buyer for Macy's
Macy's
Macy's is a U.S. chain of mid-to-high range department stores. In addition to its flagship Herald Square location in New York City, the company operates over 800 stores in the United States...
, and took night classes at the Fashion Institute of Technology
Fashion Institute of Technology
The Fashion Institute of Technology, generally known as FIT, is a State University of New York college of art, business, design, and technology connected to the fashion industry, with an urban campus located on West 27th Street between Seventh and Eighth Avenues in the Chelsea neighborhood of...
.The Original Von Furstenberg, Egon, Wakes Up to His Own Potential, People
People (magazine)
In 1998, the magazine introduced a version targeted at teens called Teen People. However, on July 27, 2006, the company announced it would shut down publication of Teen People immediately. The last issue to be released was scheduled for September 2006. Subscribers to this magazine received...
, 21 December 1981 He began designing clothes for plus-size women, and later expanded to full fashion and ready-to-wear lines, including fragrances, product licensing and a haute couture
Haute couture
Haute couture refers to the creation of exclusive custom-fitted clothing. Haute couture is made to order for a specific customer, and it is usually made from high-quality, expensive fabric and sewn with extreme attention to detail and finished by the most experienced and capable seamstresses,...
line based in Rome.
On 16 July 1969 at Montfort l'Amaury, Yvelines, France, he married the Belgium-born Diane Simone Michelle Halfin
Diane von Fürstenberg
Diane von Fürstenberg, formerly Princess Diane of Fürstenberg , is a Belgian-American fashion designer best known for her iconic wrap dress. She initially rose to prominence when she married into the German princely House of Fürstenberg, as the wife of Prince Egon of Fürstenberg...
, daughter of a Holocaust survivor. She was Jewish and pregnant, and the senior Fürstenbergs objected to the couple's union for those reasons. They had two children, Prince Alexander von Furstenberg (b. 25 January 1970) and Princess Tatiana Desirée
Tatiana von Fürstenberg
Tatiana Desirée Prinzessin zu Fürstenberg or Princess Tatiana Desirée zu Fürstenberg ) is an American rock singer and filmmaker - and daughter of fashion designers Diane and Egon von Fürstenberg-External links:...
(b. 16 February 1971), and were divorced in 1972. His wife opened her own fashion house at Egon's urging, where she created the iconic "wrap dress", launching a career as designer that pre-dated and arguably eclipsed Egon's.
Diane later married media mogul Barry Diller
Barry Diller
Barry Charles Diller is the Chairman and Senior Executive of IAC/InterActiveCorp and the media executive responsible for the creation of Fox Broadcasting Company and USA Broadcasting.-Early life:...
(2001). In 1983 Egon married a Mississippi native, Lynn Marshall (born ca. 1950). They had no children.
Fürstenberg wrote two top selling books: The Power Look,Von Fürstenberg, Egon. (1978) The Power Look, New York: Holt, Rinehart, and Winston, ISBN 0030204569 (ISBN 9780030204562) a guide to fashion and good taste, and The Power Look at Home: Decorating for Men,Von Fürstenberg, Egon. (1980) The Power Look at Home: Decorating for Men, New York: Morrow, ISBN 068803599X (ISBN 9780688035990) a book on home furnishings. He created an interior design
Interior design
Interior design describes a group of various yet related projects that involve turning an interior space into an effective setting for the range of human activities are to take place there. An interior designer is someone who conducts such projects...
firm in 1981. His collection of art included works by artist Zachary Selig
Zachary Selig
Zachary Selig is an American artist, author, interior designer and spiritist.-Biography:His first publication as author and illustrator was the bestselling Kundalini Awakening - A Gentle Guide to Chakra Activation and Spiritual Growth.Selig is a magic realist painter...
.Quinn, Joan A. "Click: Zachary Selig honors Prince Egon von Furstenberg." The Herald Examiner, January 26, 1989.
Egon von Fürstenberg died at Spallanzani Hospital in Rome. According to the New York Post
New York Post
The New York Post is the 13th-oldest newspaper published in the United States and is generally acknowledged as the oldest to have been published continuously as a daily, although – as is the case with most other papers – its publication has been periodically interrupted by labor actions...
, Fürstenberg's widow stated that he died of liver cancer
Hepatocellular carcinoma
Hepatocellular carcinoma is the most common type of liver cancer. Most cases of HCC are secondary to either a viral hepatitide infection or cirrhosis .Compared to other cancers, HCC is quite a rare tumor in the United States...
caused by a hepatitis C
Hepatitis C
Hepatitis C is an infectious disease primarily affecting the liver, caused by the hepatitis C virus . The infection is often asymptomatic, but chronic infection can lead to scarring of the liver and ultimately to cirrhosis, which is generally apparent after many years...
infection picked up in the 1970s.
Fürstenberg had earlier intimated in a New York Magazine article that he was bisexual. In June 2000 he then made his 'coming out
Coming out
Coming out is a figure of speech for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people's disclosure of their sexual orientation and/or gender identity....
' as a bisexual in an interview published by the Italian
Italian language
Italian is a Romance language spoken mainly in Europe: Italy, Switzerland, San Marino, Vatican City, by minorities in Malta, Monaco, Croatia, Slovenia, France, Libya, Eritrea, and Somalia, and by immigrant communities in the Americas and Australia...
daily newspaper La Repubblica
La Repubblica
la Repubblica is an Italian daily general-interest newspaper. Founded in 1976 in Rome by the journalist Eugenio Scalfari, as of 2008 is the second largest circulation newspaper, behind the Corriere della Sera.-Foundation:...