“I realized if I was going to make it, I had to stand out.” And that’s exactly what Diana Vreeland did. “There’s only one very good life — and that’s the life you know you want and you make it yourself, she explained. Though she would be known for her high-powered positions at Harper’s Bazaar and Vogue, as well as working as a consultant at the Costume Institute of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, she lived many lifetimes before that. Vreeland, from a childhood of language barriers and stuttering, through dance class and the roaring 20s, designed her own life every step of the way. She had no time for snobs and planted herself in the heartbeat of Harlem, at the opening her lingerie shop in London, then running circles around the globe. She had a keen sense of originality and of irreverence — and delighted in eccentricity. In this fashion documentary, The Eye Has To Travel, you can get a unique look at this incredible character. You can see the whole thing here:
She’s the woman who brought the sexual revolution and the pill to the pages of popular magazines, who managed to capture the 60s, and so much more. And if that isn’t enough about the genius that is Diana Vreeland, this tidbit is something really special. Andrew Leon Talley, the fashion icon, was speaking at the Oxford Union about the moment he first really impressed Vreeland — it’s the stuff of fashion legend. Check out the video here:
A woman never afraid to ask, “What if?” Diana Vreeland redefined what it meant to be an editor — and changed the nature of lifestyle forever.
