Diane von Furstenberg is on the hunt for a new brand ambassador and she’s getting E! to help her identify the perfect candidate. A few months ago, it was announced that DVF was going to turn her search to fill the position into a reality series. We were initially a little skeptical of the project; reality TV is not always the best venue for young professionals as it thrives off its subjects acting in a typically unprofessional manner. Why would DVF want to have any of the nasty catfights, backstabbing and shade that happens in the process of competing for a position documented on national television? Seemed a bit more like a ploy to help give DVF more media visibility. While that may still be the case, we are happy to report that the show is actually pretty good.
E! has released a preview of House of DVF, due to air on TV this Sunday at 10/9 Central. DVF handpicked ten girls as finalists for the competition, using the first episode to whittle that down to eight. Each of the contenders comes from different backgrounds, and all have had some sort of experience in the fashion industry. In fact, a few of the girls already have quite impressive resumes. Rounding out the rankings is Hollywood-based stylist Brittany Hampton, who’s dressed the likes of Ariana Grande and Jaden Smith, Fashion Addict blogger Kier Mellour, as well as Grease & Glamour blogger Jinna Yang. Even the youngest cast member, 19-year-old Bronx native Tiffani Warkenthien, was a student at FIT.
As every reality competition begins, tension is already afoot. The girls begin the show with a meet and greet over cocktails before being brought to DVF’s showroom, where they immediately start combing through all the beautiful bags and printed scarves on display. This was greatly displeasing to DVF’s henchmen, Style Editor Jessica Joffe and Creative Brand Director Stefani Greenfield, who scolded the girls for their behavior just before getting to their first project: The DVF Awards.
The girls were ushered to the U.N. and assigned duties to complete during the ceremony. They greeted guests (which included Sarah Jessica Parker and Alicia Keys), manned the food table, updated Instagram and even stood onstage looking pretty. Of course, the first episode was not without its share of drama. One girl, who had just celebrated her 24th birthday the night before, had a panic attack and wound up being tended to by a fleet of paramedics. Two girls were eliminated after the first event, but you’ll have to watch to find out who.
This is certainly a reality show worth watching. DVF (who has a GIANT portrait of herself hanging in her office) is actually a joy to see onscreen and the girls are young, ambitious and seem to conduct themselves like ladies as opposed to runaway pets. You won’t find any prosthetic leg throwing or weave snatching — we predict there will be nary an upturned table in sight. Of course, some of the girls snip and snipe at each other, but from the looks of it, there isn’t really anything there that could potentially tarnish the DVF brand. Of course there isn’t — the designer spent decades building up her company, so we doubt she’d jeopardize it all for the E! network.
In short: Watch the show. It’s good. You can catch it on Sundays at 10/9 Central on E!
