Diane von Furstenberg is arguably the grande dame of New York fashion, and not only because she’s the president of the CFDA. Just try to walk to your seat at one of her shows; you’ll bump into a powerful bunch of folks, who also happen to be her dear friends. This season was no exception–I almost tripped on Barbara Walters, who was sitting front row next to Oscar de la Renta. Anderson Cooper, Fran Lebowitz, and Rachel Zoe were there to show support, too. The Theatre at Lincoln Center was packed to the rafters.

In between settling show scheduling conflicts with Milan and Paris and issuing CFDA guidelines about underaged models, DVF managed to find the time (with creative director Yvan Mispelaere) to create an amazing and sophisticated fall collection. When I saw the puzzle-piece-adorned invitation and show notes, I was a bit concerned that the pieces were going to be an over-arching design element. While deconstructed puzzle piece shapes showed up on a few pieces, it was more a metaphor (I think). DVF loves her woman, and after a poetic discussion in the line sheets about who this season’s woman was, she ended with this sentence: “The pieces are coming together. The night is young; she is timeless.”

So was this collection.

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