Diana Vreeland: the Eye Has to Travel

‘I am extremely disappointed that no one has taken the slightest interest in freckles.’ So declared Diana Vreeland, the legendary (in fashion circles) editrix of American Vogue, in 1968. She didn’t believe in staff meetings, nor did she dress before lunch. The above quote is from a memo, dictated to her secretary from her bathroom. Seen in archive footage in this doc, Mrs Vreeland (as everyone calls her) comes across like the batty old aunt of an aristocratic family. Here she is recounting how she spotted Hitler in a theatre: ‘The moustache… it was just wrong!’ Larger than life, she was one of those originals with whom the fashion industry overflows. She began her career at Harper’s Bazaar, offering readers let-them-eat-cake-style tips: ‘Why don’t you rinse your blond child’s hair in dead champagne to keep it gold?’ Poached by Vogue, she became a grand-dame arbiter of style, discovering Lauren Bacall, championing bikinis and styling then-first lady Jackie Kennedy. The filmmakers (including her grandson’s wife) are clearly besotted. Fashion fans will be in heaven.