Biography

Diane Gilman was born to design fashion. From the time she picked up a crayon as a 2 year old and drew a polka dot dress on a stick figure, the die was cast. All through her early childhood & teens Diane dreamt of moving to New York City and hitting it ‘big’ in the fashion industry.

She started her first fashion store in Los Angeles as a freshman at UCLA in the mid 60’s called “I’m a Hog for You Baby!!” after the supposed first rock n’ roll recording. This soon became a favorite destination amongst Hollywood starlets such as Anne Margaret and Cher.

Jeans Pioneer

In the late 60’s, Diane followed the music scene to San Francisco, hand-crafting one-of-a-kind denim creations for Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix, Grace Slick & Jefferson Airplane, Jerry Garcia & the Grateful Dead, Jim Morrison & the Doors, the list goes on….

Diane moved closer to her childhood dream in the mid-70’s when she moved to New York City. In the early 80’s she was discovered by Bloomingdale’s to produce her first full collection. Diane was given all the windows of Bloomindale’s plus two double-page full ads for her burgeoning brand, Cabal. At one point, in the mid 80’s, Cabal was seen in every window of every department store in New York.

Diane Gilman went on to be credited as the first designer to introduce washable silk in the US; a coup which brought her broad fashion department store recognition and millions of devoted followers. However, nothing could compare to the huge global recognition she has realized as one of the foundational fashion pioneers of Tele-retail.

The Jeans Queen

May 2014 marks Diane’s 20th Anniversary on HSN, as the longest running fashion personality. Her fashions appear on HSN in the USA, The Shopping Channel Canada, QVC UK, QVC Italia, QVC France, and TVSN Australia.

Diane had her first book published in 2013. ‘Good Jeans’ is Diane’s autobiography, written and dedicated to the baby boomer generation. She now continues to blog for Huff Post 50, and has garnered an incredible repertoire of press attention including interviews with Charlie Rose on CBS and the New York Times’ with Cathy Horyn.

Diane owes all of her current success to one “light bulb moment” when she decided to create a very unique fit in denim based on catering to the baby boomers’ figure challenges with a close-fitting, sexy yet comfortable jean with universal appeal. Innovative fabrications such as Superstretch have become such wildly popular and fast selling hits that she’s earned the title “Jeans Queen” at HSN and celebrities like Kirstie Alley sing her praise.

Giving Back

Diane’s incredible success has instilled her with gratitude and a heightened sense of purpose to give back. She is currently involved in several charities and organizations including UNICEF, HSN Cares, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, Diamonds Unleashed, and South Nassau Communities Hospital.