“Never
worry about the facts, just project an image to the
public”
Diana Vreeland was the twentieth century’s greatest
arbiter of style and elegance. As fashion editor at
Harpers Bazaar for twenty-five years, Editor in Chief of
Vogue and creator and ambassador of fantastic exhibits at
the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute, Diana,
with her passion for living, her legendary wit and charm
energized the world of style and fashion for over fifty
years. Not bad for a woman who had no intention of
actually working for a living, ("work? What an interesting
idea.")
Diana Vreeland can be
described as a wellborn social butterfly that dabbled in
the world of fashion, exercising her unique ability to
give the fantasy starved American woman whatever it was
she wanted to see. Not born into wealth, just socially
well connected, Diana was groomed by her mother to be like
the women who graced the covers of the fashion magazines
she came to manage.
Born in Paris, the daughter
of a Scottish farmer and an American mother, she was
raised in a “between the wars” European world. “My
parents spent their days having a good time,” Diana has
been heard to say, “They never contributed a bloody thing
and they and all their friends lived the life of Riley”.
Education for Diana and her
younger sister was somewhat erratic. Rather than have
Diana fail at an academically minded school, her mother
sent her to various ballet schools, the first being the
Michael Fokine ballet school, the only school run by an
Imperial Master from Russia. “I went to dancing school and
I didn’t give a damn about anything else. All I’ve ever
cared about since, is movement, rhythm, being in touch and
discipline. What Fokine taught. And it’s stood me in good
stead all my life—it’s forever. When I discovered dancing,
I learned to dream.”
Diana Vreeland did not
actually begin her formal career until sometime in her mid
thirties. She was wife to an unwealthy but socially
accepted handsome American banker, Reed Vreeland, and
mother of two sons. Her early days were spent as part of a
milieu that effortlessly blended society and artist in a
whirl of activity. She was a friend to Coco Chanel, The
Duke and Duchess of Windsor, Daisy Fellowes and Christian
Bernard.
Most of these days were
spent in designer showrooms being fitted for everything
from clothing to hats and gloves.
But she paid almost nothing
for her designer clothes. For the French Designers, Diana
had what they called jolie/laide, which means
beautiful/ugly. In fact, Diana was considered by most to
be very ugly, one journalist in America suggesting that
her looks were reminiscent of a cigar store wooden Indian.
To the world, however, it didn’t matter. Couturiers saw
her as an original, a mannequin du monde. So they offered
her the clothing and accessories for nothing, in exchange
for her chic manner and visibility.
When Reed moved the family
to New York Diana continued living the way she always had
until Caramel Snow, the then editor of Harpers Bazaar
magazine, approached her. Snow had the uncanny ability to
sniff out virgin talent and wanted Diana as Fashion Editor
suggesting that she would be paid for what she was already
doing.
Diana accepted the position
and soon began changing the way fashion was reported to
the public. Instead of simply reporting the styles and
trends of fashion, Diana began to create, to motivate and
popularize, certain objects, attitudes and ideas. She did
this with her legendary observations, comments, wit and
humour, keeping the American public, especially women,
always wanting more. “The bikini is the most important
invention since the atom bomb”, was one statement. “Never
fear being vulgar, just boring”, was another.
On one occasion during a
fashion layout for Vogue magazine, Diana was informed that
a phrase, “windbreaker” that she was using, was already
copyrighted. Breathlessly she rushed into the copy room
and demanded, "Quick, what's another word for breaking
wind?” On another occasion she created a two-page layout
of a nude female lying face down in the sand, her derriere
covered in a large black straw hat. The caption read,
“Spend the summer under a big black sailor.”
Diana Vreeland had the
unique ability to always think “outside the box”. Even the
décor of her apartment on Park Avenue was an original.
Friends with Billy Baldwin, the famous New York decorator
who actually worked with her on the project, Diana said
that she wanted her apartment to look like a garden in
Hell. Actually it did not look like a garden in hell but
it was completely decorated in lacquer reds with scarlet
coloured floral wall coverings, memorabilia and books. In
the center of her living room was a bright red sofa piled
high with an impressive collection of cushions.
In terms of her personal
style, Diana loved simple elegant clothing with splashy
accessories. Exotic jewelry, hats and wonderful shoes were
among her favorite fashion items. “I’d like to have on the
most luxurious cashmere sweater; the most luxurious satin
pants, very beautiful stockings, very beautiful
shoes—marvelous shoes—and whatever would be suitable
around the neck.” .
Diana Vreeland was a
visionary in the world of style, elegance and fashion.
“People who eat white bread have no dreams.” She was known
to say. “Without emotion, there is no beauty” and “What
sells is hope”. The stories she told and the tales she
spun were nothing less than memorable and she is still
quoted today. The American public hung on to every word
and on one occasion a brave journalist asked her, “Mrs.
Vreeland, is that fact or fiction?” After a small pause
she replied, “It’s faction”.
Has Fashion Gotten Away From Us?
