“I look pretty awful in the movie,” Diane von Fürstenberg mused at the global premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival 2024. “Thank God I was beautiful when I was young! But I think not being beautiful makes things more interesting. Strength is also beauty. I’m 77 years old, but I should be 300. The bravest thing I ever did was to be born. My mother weighed 49 kilograms when she returned from Auschwitz and married my father. Her doctor warned her not to get pregnant—it could kill her. Twelve months later, I was born. Just being alive is a triumph for me.”

Her mother, Liliane Nahmias, survived the concentration camp, and that experience deeply affected Diane and their relationship. “My mother taught me the value of strength and endurance,” Diane reflects during the documentary “Diane von Fürstenberg: Woman in Charge,” directed by Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy and Trish Dalton, now available on Hulu and Disney+.