A few weeks after her ELLE shoot in Malibu, Talita von Furstenberg couldn’t be further away from her beachy West Coast roots. She’s prepping for midterms in a Georgetown University library. The 20-year-old American fashion royal (her grandmother is Diane von Furstenberg) is pursuing studies in social justice, rather than taking the expected design route. “It may seem inconsistent,” she says.“But I am as passionate about helping people as I am about making them feel beautiful in what they’re wearing.”
Last week, she unveiled her capsule collection, TVF for DVF, after growing up fully immersed in the industry. (She began assisting Von Furstenberg at her runway shows at the tender age of nine.) For her first foray as a designer, the Angeleno looked homeward for inspiration: “Growing up in L.A. and constantly being around nature and greenery definitely played a role in my design process,” she says. In fact, a camera roll full of flowers on her phone provided creative fodder—she named each piece in the collection after one of her favorite varieties.
“I am really happy with the simplicity of the clothes,” she says of the line, which includes breezy sundresses and separates. “Everything has become so overdesigned. You don’t need to think twice about throwing on a TVF dress and walking out the door, or about complications with how to style it, because it’ll go with things you already have in your closet.” In true ELLE fashion, she demonstrated how to effortlessly mix items high and low with some of her favorite looks from the collection for this shoot.
Fashion is in her genes, but does it have a permanent place in her professional future as well? “I’ve looked up to my grandmother my whole life,” she says.“She has successfully leveraged her business to help and inspire many people. I hope to follow in her footsteps—as a fashion designer and social activist.”
Terence Connors
The 23-piece collection runs up to size 16 and is available now.
Styled by Charles Varenne; hair by Nikki Providence forR+Co; makeup by Natasha Severino at Forward Artists; set design by Michael Wanenmacher at Owl & the Elephant; produced by Anastasia Blades 139 at 360PM.