Legendary fashion designer Diane von Fürstenberg returned this week to her ancestral home of Thessaloniki, where she was honored for her multifaceted career and philanthropic work in a moving ceremony at the Ministry of Macedonia and Thrace.
Ms. von Fürstenberg, who revolutionized 1970s fashion with her "wrap dress," was born in Belgium.
Her mother, Liliane Nahmias, was a Holocaust survivor from Thessaloniki.
Deputy Minister of Interior Konstantinos Gioulekas presented Ms. von Fürstenberg with a commemorative plaque, reflecting the city's pride in her family's legacy and her mother's harrowing survival of Nazi concentration camps.
Ms. von Fürstenberg spoke warmly of her Greek heritage, describing Thessaloniki as a harmonious "salad" of cultures where Greeks, Jews, Armenians, and Muslims coexisted.
Mr. Gioulekas praised Ms. von Fürstenberg’s achievements and the global work of her Diller-von Furstenberg Family Foundation, which supports women's rights, human rights, and climate initiatives.
The actress Mimi Denissi also attended, sharing her admiration for Ms. von Fürstenberg’s resilience and artistic legacy.
The event, held in a building central to Thessaloniki’s 1912 liberation from Ottoman rule, symbolized a bridge between the city's past and its celebrated diaspora, underscoring Ms. von Fürstenberg's life as both a fashion icon and a global advocate.