DVF Awards to Honor U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg
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Diane von Furstenberg is going to Washington.
The designer is changing the locale of her upcoming DVF Awards, and for good reason. The organization on Feb. 19 is honoring U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg with its Lifetime Leadership award for her “unwavering commitment and trailblazing support of gender equality” at an event at the Library of Congress.
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“I was so honored that she accepted. I thought it would be respectful to come and do the ceremony in D.C. The crowd will be impressive,” von Furstenberg told WWD, adding sheepishly, “I can’t really say who will attend.
“This year marks the 11th annual DVF Awards where we celebrate and honor extraordinary women who’ve shown the strength to fight, the courage to survive and the leadership to inspire,” von Furstenberg added.
Past recipients of the Lifetime Leadership honor include Oprah Winfrey, Gloria Steinem and Hillary Rodham Clinton. While the three women were major “gets,” the 87-year-old Bader Ginsburg’s attendance is a coup on several levels. “Notorious RBG: The Life and Times of Ruth Bader Ginsburg” in 2015 chronicled her style savvy and penchant for accessories, from fishnet gloves to collars to jabots and scrunchies.
A $98 Banana Republic bib necklace the U.S. Supreme Court Justice wears at times has been called by Bader Ginsburg herself a dissent collar. She wore it to sit on the bench the day after Donald Trump was elected president, even though the court didn’t issue any decisions that day, and said the necklace “looks fitting for dissent.” She also wears various jabots, which observers have assigned deeper meaning. A crocheted number is considered to be her majority opinion preferred neckwear.
The symbolism of Bader Ginsburg as the recipient of the Lifetime Leadership award isn’t lost on von Furstenberg.
“For the first time, the awards will take place in Washington, D.C. There’s truly no better person, place or time to highlight such an incredible representative of justice and equality,” von Furstenberg added. “She’s the second female justice of four to be confirmed to the U.S. Supreme Court and she’s spent her life fighting for the issues and causes we care most about. We’re honoring her for giving us decades of inspiration, and for being a strong female figure to look up to.”
This isn’t von Furstenberg’s first brush with Bader Ginsberg. When the jurist in December was honored with the Berggruen Prize — an award typically reserved for philosophers — members of her fan club, including von Furstenberg, Olivia Wilde, Karlie Kloss and Katie Couric, were in the audience.
The DVF Awards two years ago bestowed its Lifetime Achievement honor on another woman U.S. Supreme Court Justice, Sonia Sotomayor.
Other awards to be given on Feb. 19 include: the International Award to Priti Patkar for working to stop the cycle of intergenerational trafficking in the red light district of Mumbai, and the International Award to Saskia Nino de Rivera for establishing Reinserta, a nonprofit that works in the prison system in Mexico to create a safer country through prison reform by disrupting the cycle of violence and incarceration and focusing on the men and women, and children born behind bars. An Inspiration Award will also be given, although its recipient has yet to be revealed.
The DVF Awards were founded in 2010 by von Furstenberg and The Diller-von Furstenberg Family Foundation. Awards each year are bestowed upon women who have demonstrated leadership, strength, and courage in their commitment to women’s causes. The Diller-von Furstenberg Family Foundation grants each honoree $50,000 for their nonprofit organization in order to further their work.
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