Last night saw the fifth DVF awards take place at the United Nations in New York, an annual event during which the designer honors extraordinary women, from politicians to regular women doing outstanding things. Last night, awards were presented to Veronika Scott of The Empowerment Plan, Cameroon politician Kah Walla, Israeli-Palestinian peace activists Liron Peleg-Hedoni and Noah Khatieb and Alicia Keys, who received the Inspiration Award.
Most exciting to witness though, was the Lifetime Achievement Award honoring Gloria Steinem—the ultimate feminist activist—who’s dedicated her entire life to establishing equality for women. Steinem founded Ms. magazine in 1972, was a co-founder of New York magazine and helped start the Women’s Action Alliance and the National Women’s Political Caucus.
Von Furstenberg herself presented dear friend Steinem with the award, telling the room that she actually dropped her Princess title in favor of 'Ms.' upon Steinem’s recommendation when the pair first met.
Naturally, Steinem gave a lovely but ‘no bullshit’ acceptance speech, addressing the fact that she also happened to be celebrating her 80th birthday:
‘The word still has entered my life,’ she said ‘Oh, you’re still travelling. You’re still wearing blue jeans,’ and noted that friends and associates have told her she should now start living life ‘for herself’, implying she’s given up something for her love of the cause, to which she responded: ‘I don’t feel I’ve sacrificed one fucking thing!’
Sidenote: We can only hope to look as good as that half a century from now.
Picture: Getty
This article originally appeared on The Debrief.