Prince Egon von Fürstenberg (Eduard Egon Peter Paul Giovanni Prinz zu Fürstenberg; 29 June 1946 – 11 June 2004) was a socialite, banker, fashion and interior designer, and a member of the former German princely family of Fürstenberg.
In 1969, he married fashion designer Diane Halfin, with whom he had two children, Alexandre Egon (born 25 January 1970) and Tatiana Desirée (born 16 February 1971). The couple separated in 1973 and divorced in 1983. Between his marriages, Egon also had a male partner; he was frank about his bisexuality and the openness of his first marriage. After Clara's departure, his father married Texas oil heiress Cecil Amelia Hudson (née Blaffer).
Fürstenberg's younger brother is Prince Sebastian zu Fürstenberg, and his sister was socialite and actress Princess Ira zu Fürstenberg.
Biography
Egon von Fürstenberg was born in Lausanne, Switzerland. They married on 16 July 1969, at Montfort-l'Amaury, Yvelines, France. The new Princess Diane von Fürstenberg was pregnant, and Egon's father, who objected to his son marrying a Jew, and other von Fürstenberg family members attended the wedding ceremony but boycotted the reception.
His wife opened her fashion house in New York at Egon's urging, creating an eventually iconic wrap dress, a career as designer that pre-dated and arguably eclipsed Egon's. Fürstenberg began his career as a buyer for Macy's, taking night classes at the Fashion Institute of Technology, and Parson's School of Design.
The von Fürstenbergs had two children: Alexandre Egon (born 25 January 1970) and Tatiana Desirée (born 16 February 1971). and finally divorced in 1983. He opened an interior design firm in 1981.
His high level of sexual activity resulted in Fürstenberg being nicknamed "Egon von First in bed."
Egon von Fürstenberg died at Spallanzani Hospital in Rome on 11 June 2004. The New York Post reported Fürstenberg's widow stating that he died of liver cancer caused by a hepatitis C infection that he acquired in the 1970s. However, it was acknowledged in the 2024 documentary Diane von Furstenberg: Woman in Charge that Egon von Fürstenberg had in fact been diagnosed with HIV in the 1980s.
Published works
Fürstenberg's published works included: