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Designer Diane Von Furstenberg, featured on the covers of Newsweek — in 1976 and again last month — is president of the Council of Fashion Designs of America. Here, she chats about the garment that has wrapped her in success.

Q What first ignited your interest and passion for fashion and design?

A I learned about fashion in Como, Italy. Growing up, I was not very interested in fashion, but I was always fascinated by people's styles. I ended up working for a man who was a genius and taught me everything about printing, colors, knitting jersey fabric. He had a printing factory, a T-shirt factory and a lingerie factory. ... I combined all of that and designed my first dresses ... the rest is history.

Q What elements make

a garment a "classic?"

A A true classic is timeless.

Q How did you come to design the wrap dress?

A First, it was a wrap top, like a dancer's sweater. Then, I decided to turn the top into a dress, and it became the wrap dress. Wraps have existed for a very long time, though. They are a very traditional form of dressing, like a toga or kimono.

Q Why do you think it was such a hit?

A The wrap flatters a woman's body, is super comfortable, is no fuss, does not wrinkle, can be worn anytime of year and feels wonderful!

Q How does today's wrap dress differ from the original collections?

A The wrap dress is timeless ... it is worn the same way today as it was worn in the '70s ... it is effortless.

A younger generation of women is wearing the dresses today, but these women are still the same in their attitudes ... confident and independent.

Q What have women said about the wrap over the years?

A In the '70s and now, women often come to me and tell me about something major that happened when they were wearing a wrap dress ... it usually has to do with a man.

Q What type of woman wears them?

A The DVF look is very individual ... I believe in taking my clothes and making them your own. The woman who wears my clothes does just that. ... She is a working girl who wears a wrap dress with Louboutin heels, or a young girl who wears the dress with combat boots. She is always the woman in the driver's seat ... active and seductive, but above all, confident.

Q Did you continue to wear wraps even in the years when you weren't designing them for the public?

A I stopped wearing wrap dresses at that time. ... It was a time for big shoulders and suits, instead.

Q What advice do you give young designers?

A My mother once said to me, "Just go for it. ... Fear is not an option," so I pass that along as often as I can. It is the best advice I have ever received.

Q What would you like to do in your career that you haven't yet done?

A I would have liked to design accessories that are as must-have as the wrap dress.

For more on the wrap

'Diane Von Furstenberg: The Wrap' by Andre Leon Talley (Assouline). Lots of colorful photos of the wrap through the years and an introduction by the editor-at-large of Vogue.

'Diane: A Signature Life' by Diane Von Furstenberg (Simon & Schuster).