Diane von Furstenberg Gets Candid About Aging and Finding Her 'Strength' in Taking Mirror Selfies

Diane von Furstenberg doesn't believe selfies are in vain. In fact, admiring herself in the mirror comes with empowerment.

While speaking with Julia Louis-Dreyfus on her newly released podcast from Lemonada Media, Wiser Than Me, the award-winning fashion designer, 76, got real about aging — and taking bathing suit selfies in her '70s, something that the Emmy-winning actress called "inspirational."

"I have a tendency to think that, at least in my case, when I look at myself in the mirror, I find my strength there. So somehow, when I look at myself in the mirror, I like it and then sometimes I see a picture of me and I say, 'Oh my God, that's not how I feel like," she shared with the Emmy-winning actress.

Von Furstenberg believes she's had that inner power from day one. "18 months before I was born, my mother was liberated from Auschwitz. She weighed 49 pounds…My mere birth was a triumph over misery, and therefore, just the fact that I was born was a triumph," she revealed.

Because of this "triumph," von Furstenberg said her mother "would never allow me to be afraid."

She continued on about how her mother's life experience allowed her to teach her life lessons that last with her to this day, saying, "She never wanted me to be a victim. Never be a victim, no matter what happens. And that's how you build your character. Because the only thing that you have complete control of — the only thing — is your character."

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Beyond character, one also has control over their wardrobe. Von Furstenberg said she thinks that every woman "needs a black turtleneck" in her closet, adding that everyone has clothes that they gravitate towards that flatter them and become their "personality" and their "style," which for her is more flowy fabrics but can be anything that makes someone feel their best.

Flowy clothing is quite the opposite of what she is known for, however, as the fashion designer made a name for herself with the famous wrap dress.

Louis-Dreyfus opened up to the designer about how that famous dress made her feel when she was around 16, saying, "By the time I became a teenager in the '70s, being super thin was the only way to be, and I was not. I was a little bit heavyset, but I had a small waist. And I'm going to tell you honestly that your dress was, I think, the first sort of fashion, the thing that I wore that made me feel like, oh, I don't mind my body so much."

The actress then showed von Furstenberg a photo of herself in the dress, and the designer affectionately told her she looked "hot."