How an ‘ugly duckling’ came to dominate the fashion world
Diana Vreeland thrust Lauren Bacall and Twiggy into the limelight. She advised Jackie Kennedy on dress.
Join us Sunday, June 17, 2018, 4 p.m. at the Revue Cinema for “An Afternoon with Diana Vreeland.” We will be screening the doc Diana Vreeland: The Eye Has to Travel. Bata Shoe Museum senior curator Elizabeth Semmelhack will introduce the film and take part in a Q&A.
Diana Vreeland inspired designers, models, photographers. She transformed what a fashion magazine could be. And at the age of 60-plus, she embraced the revolutionary spirit of the 1960s, showcasing the era’s game-changing fashions and personalities in the pages of Vogue, where she was editor-in-chief.
Vreeland (1903-1989) was unique, an opinionated eccentric, a self-taught master of the pithy pronouncement. Had she been any less strong and imaginative, she might at an early age have succumbed to rejection by her mother, who dismissed her as ugly.
For years, Vreeland reigned as the “Empress of Fashion,” first as columnist and editor at Harper’s Bazaar and then as editor-in-chief at Vogue. And when she lost that job, she turned another milieu on its head, creating blockbuster exhibitions as special consultant to the Costume Institute at New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Any proceeds from the Extraordinary Women events go to support Back Lane’s video programs for seniors and students.
Admission: Advance: $12 on Eventbrite. At the door: $13 for seniors, students and Revue members; $15 general.
The Vreeland Eye:
Columnist and Fashion editor at Harper’s Bazaar from 1936, editor at Vogue from 1962, and special consultant at the Costume Institute from 1972, Vreeland had an unerring eye for talent, trends and style.
Consider these notches on her belt:
- In 1933, Vreeland opened a lingerie shop in London to serve a wealthy clientele and make a bit of money. She outfitted Wallace Simpson with three luxurious nightgowns that no doubt contributed to the seduction of the Prince of Wales.
- In 1942, Vreeland met Lauren (Betty) Bacall for the first time and recognized the 16-year-olds potential, arranging for a photography session the next day. After Bacall’s face appeared on the magazine’s cover, Hollywood came calling.
- In 1960, Jacqueline Kennedy was criticized for her preference for French designers. She turned to Vreeland to help her build a U.S.-designed wardrobe. Vreeland also had a guiding hand in the design of Jackie’s inauguration gown.
- In 1964, Mick Jagger’s image appeared in the pages of Vogue magazine. It was the first time his photo was published in North America. Vreeland, who embraced the “Youthquake” in Britain, insisted on it. She was taken by “those lips.”
- Another first: In 1964, Vogue was the first American magazine to publish a photo of the Beatles. Vreeland called them “too adorable.”
- Manolo Blahnik was an unknown young designer when he made his way into Vreeland’s office in the early 1970s, paralyzed with fright from meeting his idol and pain from too-tight Victorian-style shoes. Vreeland looked at his portfolio and said: “Young man, do things. Do accessories. Do shoes. Which he did. See an exhibit of his imaginative footwear now on at the Bata Shoe Museum.
- Another talented young man who Vreeland helped was fashion editor and writer André Leon Talley. Vreeland was curating the show “Romantic and Glamorous Hollywood Design” in 1974 at the Costume Institute, where she landed after being fired from Vogue. Talley , who was volunteering, successfully reassembled a chain-mail dress worn by Lana Turner, and so impressed Vreeland with his encyclopedic knowledge of fashion that she took him under her wing and helped launch his career. Her exhibits at the time broke all records at the Metropolitan Museum. The Hollywood show attracted 800,000, breaking all records at other Metropolitan Museum shows, outstripping them by a factor of four.