Diane von Furstenberg has always been a beacon of female empowerment in the fashion industry. This International Women's Day, the designer merged the fashion and art communities together by tapping artist Ashley Longshore for a pop-up exhibition paying homage to a series of female trailblazers.
Featuring a mix of 37 inspiring women, the exhibit is filled with colourful paintings that celebrate influential women over the years. The idea came about when von Furstenberg and Longshore first met over afternoon tea in London this past fall. From there, Longshore had just two weeks to complete the entire series of paintings.
Hanging amongst the powerful room of women are portraits of Michelle Obama, Beyoncé, Cleopatra, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Lady Gaga, Barbra Streisand, Jacqueline Kennedy, Frida Kahlo, Diana Ross, Malala Yousafzai, and Oprah.
"In my initial meeting with Diane, she mentioned a couple of names to me; Hedy Lamar being one, Michelle Obama another," Longshore tells BAZAAR.com. "Through our continued communication and late night emailing, Diane compiled an amazing list of women and I added a few of my own. Once you start researching amazing women you can just keep going … there have been so many fearless women throughout history and they all need to be celebrated! It was really hard, but time would only allow me to paint all 37 in only two weeks."
And of course, a portrait of Diane herself is included in the exhibition. It's the first painting Longshore made for the series, and it's particularly special to the artist. "I was really diving into her spirit and everything that has made her the woman that she is," Longshore says. "This painting is actually 14 paintings in one. I started with her spirit and then I built around that. The rest just fell into place."
Maya Angelou, Cher, Mother Teresa, Elizabeth Taylor, Rosa Parks, and Barbie share wall space in another corner of the exhibit.
And Josephine Baker, Peggy Guggenheim, Marlene Dietrich, Jane Goodall, and Wonder Woman are included in the curated series as well.
The DVF x Ashley Longshore exhibit is located at Diane von Furstenberg’s flagship store on 874 Washington Street, where it will remain on display through May 2019. The paintings will also be available for purchase.
