Earlier this week I was honored to be invited to watch a screening of "Diana Vreeland: The Eye Has to Travel" and cover the event for Apparel News. The screening was the opening event for the Costume Council at LACMA's year long schedule of unique fashion programming. And I felt I really must share! It's one of those life changing inspiring moments when you get to watch the life and career of a fashion legend unfold before your eyes on the big screen. Directed and produced by Lisa Immordino Vreeland (the wife of Diana's grandson Alexander), the documentary is incredibly detailed and candid. It includes live interviews with Vreeland (whose words are to be devoured and savored!) - as well as the who's who of the fashion set. Richard Avedon, Manolo Blahnik, Angelica Huston are just a few poeple who shared their thoughts on the former Fashion Editor of Harper's Bazaar and Editor of Vogue magazine. Truly, she is the original and the "empress of fashion." As a fashion editor and creative director, I am incredibly inspired by the film which portrays Vreeland's very chic life and the vision that she had. After all, it isn't every day you get to watch the woman who literally created the idea of fashion editorial and the intersection of lifestyle, celebrity and fashion as we know it today! Who else could discover Twiggy and Lauren Bacall, feature Barbra Streisand and Mick Jagger and be a special consultant to Jackie O?
I found myself later comparing the film to "The September Issue," which I saw at the Sundance Film Festival when it debuted. Both are inspiring, but in different ways. While "The September Issue" gives a look at the careers and lives of Anna Wintour and Grace Coddington and Vogue's powerful role in the fashion world today. This documentary, gives a look into Vreeland's career and how she literally changed the face of fashion during her reign from 1937 to the early '70s. Her final legacy was to create the notion of "fashion as high art." As special consultant to the Costume Institute of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, she revitalized the department and created dramatic fashion exhibitions, which paved the way for exhibitions as we know them today. Think "Alexander McQueen: Savage Beauty."
"Diand Vreeland: The Eye Has to Travel" debuted at the Venice International Film Festival and the Telluride Film Festival and will soon be released to the public on September 21. Watch the trailer for a sneak peek. And for more about the documentary and a Q&A with the director, check the Apparel News blog. Get inspired. Enjoy!!
XOXO
photos courtesy of DianaVreeland.com
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