American fashion icon Diana Vreeland will be immortalized in a new documentary, "Diana Vreeland: The Eye Has To Travel," in theaters next month. This will be the first feature-length documentary on her life and work, though she been portrayed in several books as well as "Full Gallop," a one-woman play.
"I think what's so interesting about Mrs. Vreeland's story is that she's really known as a fashion person, and that she revolutionized fashion, but I think she really revolutionized social history... This is not just about fashion, this is a portrait of the twentieth century," said director Lisa Immordino Vreeland in an interview with Vogue Italia. Immordino is Diana Vreeland's granddaughter-in-law (though the two never met, according to DianaVreeland.com).
Vreeland, who died in 1989, is remembered for her influential tenure as an editor for Harper's Bazaar and Vogue, as well as her "Why Don't You" columns from her early days at Harper's Bazaar. As an editor, she felt that "to-day only personality counts...I do not believe we should put in [the magazine] so-called society, as it is démodé and practically doesn't exist...but ravishing personalities are the most riveting things in the world -- conversation, people's interests, the atmosphere that they create round them -- these are the things that I feel are worth putting in any issue," quotes Eleanor Dwight in her book, "Diana Vreeland," excerpted in New York magazine.
After being fired from Vogue at age 69, Vreeland was employed by the Costume Institute at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, which Dwight describes as "the most successful act of her career."
The documentary features taped recording of Vreeland's own voice, as well as interviews with Ali McGraw, Anjelica Huston, Manolo Blahnik and Diana von Furstenberg and various Vreeland family members. It will be released in theaters on September 21. In the meantime, check out the trailer below.