“The Statue of Liberty belongs to everybody; it was always about crowd funding – that’s how they built it,” Diane von Fürstenberg said, as she explained how she led support for a $100 million refurbishment of the eternal symbol of Manhattan.
But when Lady Liberty’s new museum launches this week, visitors will discover that the symbolic statue is now more than a monolithic creation rising out of the water. She has entered the digital age, so that visitors can now see the figure in intricate detail, from the burning torch she waves on high, down to her hefty copper feet.
“The thing with Liberty that is so amazing is that she belongs to everybody,” von Fürstenberg said. “The people of France raised the money, because French intellectuals at the time looked on America as Utopia.”

DvF has always stood for more than fashion, even though her dresses were a worldwide success. She also took on the role of chairperson of the Council of Fashion Designers of America; she championed The Highline walkway beside the Hudson River; and sits on the board of the Shed, the cultural hub at the heart of newly developed Hudson Yards.