Entertainment

Diana Vreeland: The Eye Has To Travel

‘You can see the approach of revolution in clothes,” declared Diana Vreeland, the most famous fashion editor of them all. “You can see everything in clothes.”

This she says in a documentary, lovingly directed by Bent-Jorgen Perlmutt and granddaughter-in-law Lisa Immordino Vreeland, which shows what the world saw in Vreeland: a fairy godmother determined to dress up a world of Cinderellas. Her 1930s Harper’s Bazaar column “Why Don’t You?” asked questions such as, “Why don’t you wear violet velvet mittens with everything?” Anything un-fabulous was declared “borrring” and consigned to the ash bin.

At Vogue in the 1960s, Vreeland reached her pinnacle, showcasing some of the decade’s most inspired clothing and photography. Later she led the Costume Institute at the Met. “I was only 70,” she said, explaining why she took the job after getting canned from Vogue.

The filmmakers are clearly fans, and any of Vreeland’s personal shortcomings — child-rearing, for instance — are only hinted at.

“The Eye Has To Travel” most successfully shows how Vreeland charmed people. Luminaries ranging from Anjelica Huston (who modeled for her) to Hubert de Givenchy testify as to Vreeland’s pied-piper effect. When the movie was over, I’ll be darned if I wasn’t tempted to buy a pair of violet mittens.