12/03/2012 Gotham by Clipping de Panmela Castro

1/9/2014

Dispatch: The DVF Awards

Dispatch: The DVF Awards ▸ Read the Digital Issue

BY JEFFREY SLONIM

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Jessica Alba and Panmela Castro PHOTOGRAPHS BY ANDREW H. WALKER/GETTYIMAGES.COM

At a podium surrounded by a sea of couches covered in Diane von Furstenberg signature fabric, Tina Brown, who hosted the third annual Diller-Von Furstenberg Awards, called Diane von Furstenberg her BFF and repeatedly admitted to having a serious DVF girl crush. But backstage in the green room, von Furstenberg reminded Dispatches of an elegant relative I knew growing up who always told it like it is. And that quality has taken the princess designer, whose mother survived Auschwitz, far indeed.

Behind the Scenes: Elisabeth Moss

Cover shoot: September 2014 issue of Gotham magazine.

In fact, von Furstenberg and her husband, Barry Diller, make a seriously powerful power couple. And through the Diller-von Furstenberg Family Foundation, they make a difference. Last Friday’s DVF Awards at the U.N. celebrated International Women’s Day and recognized women around the world who have shown leadership, strength, and courage. The award itself, a beautiful abstract heart-shaped sculpture by Anh Dwong, is presented to recipients along with a $50,000 check for their work. “I think I do so little for them, and yet, so much can be done with so little,” von Furstenberg told Dispatches. “It’s completely unique,” chimed in Diller, discussing their family foundation. “We conceived it, and the family supports it.” The Women of the Hour Later, von Furstenberg would introduce good friend and honoree Oprah Winfrey, not only for founding the Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy for Girls in South Africa (the first set of graduates will attend college in the U.S. this year) but also for the rest of her many accomplishments. “Oprah is a friend now,” explained von Furstenberg. “She’s the most formidable person I’ve met in my life. She’s done so much, and then, she is still like a little girl. You can make her laugh and cry in a minute.” Then Jessica Alba, phenomenally sexy in a form-fitting DVF sequin gown, sidled up next to me. “You look like a little baby,” offered von Furstenberg, who mentioned that her and Alba had traveled to China together when Alba was VERY pregnant. “I was ready to have that baby,” explained Alba, who would later introduce Panmela Castro, a victim of domestic violence who used graffiti art to bring attention to the issue in Brazil. Her organization, Vital Voices, teaches women their rights under the law and to express their cause through public art. “Panmela has given women a voice on the subject of domestic violence,” said Alba. “It’s very rare to have quite this impact.”

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1/9/2014

Dispatch: The DVF Awards

A minute later, Debra Winger, who I sat next to at a recent lunch, took Dispatches by the arm and showed me the impossibly large moon hanging over buildings across a shimmering East River. Winger would be introducing her friend Layli Miller-Muro of the Tahirih Justice Center, which advocates for American immigrant women and girls with legal issues. And Maria Bartiromo, also in the green room, would be lauding Congolese human rights activist Chouchou Namegabe of the South Kivu Women’s Media Association. “They rape women in the Congo; it’s a war weapon. And she [Namegabe] would interview one or two people, on the radio; she had no money. She’s amazing!” said von Furstenberg. “She’s done an enormous amount for young girls,” added Bartiromo. “Changed so many lives. She’s among my heroes.” Onstage, after Oprah received her heartfelt award from von Furstenberg, she in turn introduced Jaycee Dugard. “This is the first time [Dugard] has appeared in public,” von Furstenberg told Dispatches. At age 11, Dugard was kidnapped by a sexual predator couple and held for a period of 18 years. Kept in shackles, Dugard was repeatedly raped and gave birth to two children, whom she raised and educated, while captured. “I am so proud of you, your courage, your ability to press onward toward the future and toward a more victorious life for yourself and for using your courage, your strength, and your power to show the world that you care,” offered Oprah, before embracing Dugard at her very first public appearance. “My name is Jaycee Dugard,” said a remarkably cheery-sounding young woman, not too tall at the mic. “I want to say that, because for a long time, I wasn’t able to say my name, and it feels good.” And while at most such events one hears a din of chatter in the background, the room was silent—still. “My hope is to be remembered for what I do and not what happened to me,” she intoned gently and with great strength. Dispatches attends hundreds of events every year, but the DVF awards at the U.N. were a heartfelt game changer. Diller and von Furstenberg deserve medals. Like what you're reading? Get it delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up now for our newsletters >>

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