Diane von Furstenberg took pioneer women as her Spring theme: “Nathan [Jenden, her creative director, currently on medical leave] told me ‘you’re a pioneer,’ so why not?” Jensen meant pioneer in the entrepreneurial sense—von Furstenberg’s frontier was New York City, not the Wild West—but as it turns out, DVF wore petticoats back when she was a newlywed, and they were not unlike the one she showed under a wrap dress at today’s presentation. Her collections don’t typically include such homespun fare, but that crafty petticoat was a welcome development, one that was echoed in the special eyelet lining on a black and white cow pattern shirtdress with pannier-style volumes in the skirt, among other printed cotton frocks.

Designers have been talking here and there about “humble” materials this week—they feel like a valid, non-frivolous response to our fraught times—and von Furstenberg seems at least partially in tune with that idea. Elsewhere, she interpreted the pioneer notion more broadly; there was, for example, a blush peach pant suit for the gal living “a man’s life in a woman’s body.” And otherwise, she shrugged the concept off entirely. Irrespective of theme—she’s never really gone in for them, anyway—there were two highlights. The first, a coral and fuchsia halter neck dress with a dance floor-ready fluted hem, exhibited the signature DVF flair for color. The second came in a flower printed mesh with an empire waistline. Von Furstenberg likened it to something Empress Josephine might wear on the American plains. What a sight that would’ve been.

https://www.vogue.com/fashion-shows/spring-2019-ready-to-wear/diane-von-furstenberg