Diane Von Furstenberg

Diane von Furstenberg — who has opened three stores in China in the last five years — said in a recent interview that regardless of nationality, all the women she dresses are fundamentally similar.

"You would be surprised: Whether she is Russian or Brazilian or French or American, my consumer is the same," she said. "But it is great to design for Chinese women, because they have great bodies. They are slim and have tiny waists, so it's nice."

The designer was quick to point out that more than their figures, she admires women for their strength — and that empowering women has always been a central tenant of her work.

"What I like about women is always strength," the designer explained. "All women are the same really: They are strong, but they are afraid of their own strength."

One such strong woman was von Furstenberg's mother, a German prisoner of war. "She went to the death camps and survived. She weighed 49 pounds, so she wasn't supposed to survive," von Furstenberg said. "She always told me that God made her survive so that she could give me life. So my birth was a miracle, and therefore I carry her flag."

And it seems von Furstenberg will continue to carry that flag wherever she goes. "I think I will be DVF till the end. I don't want to retire from life. I am too engaged, I am too curious, too interested, and I still think I can make an impact. And in this part of my life, I want to make an impact."

Those stories here in our daily news roundup.

• Menswear designer Adam Kimmel will take a yearlong break from designing after he ships his Fall 2012 collection to stores. He'll use the time off to "enrich my vision, spend time with my family, and explore a number of creative arenas that have interested me while I'm still young." [WWD]
  

• Diane von Furstenberg was instated as president of the Council of Fashion Designers of America for the fourth time last week, extending her tenure until at least 2014. The group also approved 26 new members, including Joseph Altuzarra, Carly Cushnie, Michelle Ochs, and Von Furstenberg's right-hand man Yvan Mispelaere. [The Cut]
  

• J.Crew will make its introduction to the Chinese market through a partnership with retailer Lane Crawford. The store will play host to a curated selection of the retailer's Fall 2012 women's ready-to-wear and shoes, menswear, and accessory collections. "When it comes to editing and presenting collections with a creative and elevated point of view, no one does it better," said J.Crew CEO Mickey Drexler. [Fashion Etc.]

Sample sales are a sweet perk if you live in NYC, but leave it to Diane von Furstenberg to share the love nationwide. That's right, starting today, you can shop DVF's delectable — and majorly discounted — array of pretty printed dresses, tops, bottoms, and accessories marked up to a whopping 70 percent off right from the comfort of your home. Here are the details: just log on to DVFSampleSale.com and sign up to be a "DVF Insider" to gain exclusive early access to the sale today, or just wait until tomorrow for the site to go live nationwide. Who's excited?

Amanda Brooks says one woman's blog about country living is what inspired her take a break from working in fashion — but her friends in the industry say they have no doubt she'll be back in the game soon.

Brooks recently told The New York Times that Ree Drummond's blog The Pioneer Woman — which details Drummond's life on a cattle ranch in Oklahoma — gave her the idea to give up her job as fashion director at Barneys last March to take a yearlong sabbatical from life in New York City. "It's the idea of having a career on your own terms, anywhere," said Brooks, who's moving with her family to England for a year. While she's there she'll blog and work on a new book.

Perhaps Brooks's quest for life on her own terms started two years ago, when Diane von Furstenberg wrote the foreward for Brooks's book I Love Your Style, the designer told her, "It's time for you to figure out who is Amanda Brooks. Not Amanda Brooks who works for so-and-so. It’s time to define yourself as a woman." Below, some of Brooks's friends comment on how she's defined herself so far.

Diane von Furstenberg: "When I met her, she was very kind of WASPy and I didn't even think she was that pretty. But I loved watching her grow. She learns, she absorbs, she’s very entrepreneurial and she’s very nice."

Mark Dowley, Brooks's former boss at William Morris Endeavor: "Amanda is a complete person. Because she's so pulled together, she's incredibly disarming, but that can also be very intimidating."

Amy Astley, editor-in-chief of Teen Vogue: "She's a jock. She's the girl who is swimming in the sound in April. She's not a prissy fashion girl at all."

Artist Rachel Feinstein: "Amanda is fearless. If she decides to do something, she isn't worried about what people might think. . . She's incredibly genuine. It's hard for people to realize that someone like her is actually how she is. People want to dislike her because they can’t believe she’s had all this."