~DIANA VREELAND: THE EYE HAS TO TRAVEL . . .
FILE UNDER: if you want to banish redneck mentality, for-evah !! go no fur-tha !!
FILE UNDER: if you want to see why the current art scene is pretty much nowheresville, and that means lame, lame and more lame !! look no further than the fashion world, past, present . . . and probably, future !!
DIANA VREELAND: THE EYE HAS TO TRAVEL – A FILM BY LISA IMMORDINO VREELAND
REVIEWED BY NANCY SMITH. OCT 19, 2012
DIANA VREELAND: THE EYE HAS TO TRAVEL – CURRENTLY PLAYING at THE ANGELIKA FILM CENTER in NYC. DON’T MISS IT.
love this frame from the trailer – did you catch that … vintage crochet afghan (!!) – on the left.
WATCH: THE OFFICIAL TRAILER !!
p.s. hit the top image, to engage. don’t let that (lame) page fool ya.
the trailer starts off, with Ms. Vreeland narrating:
“the fashion world changes all the time. you can even see the approaching revolution in clothes. You can see and feel everything in clothes.” (!!)
the film is even more fascinating than the trailer makes for . . if you can imagine that.
it’s a wonderful story, a wonderful history – a vivid lively burst of color, fashion, and art. and key: ORIGINAL thought, also known as VISION – beyond the beyond.
but what really holds it all together is the brilliant job that the film’s director LISA IMMORDINO VREELAND, I guess a relative, has brought to the project, this film is one big treat. it moves swiftly as it lays the story down. the narrative just sweeps you up in the moment and never, ever … drops you into a dense too-much-info moment. somehow all the facts are laid bare with exquisite visuals . . . with such entertaining eloquence, the film is more a froth of a force, than a force of a force – if you get what I mean. nothing slows this film down, and it when it’s over, well . . . you just want to sit there, and watch it – all over again.
and, well regarding ‘all’ the facts, that’s interesting too.
though some mention is made of her personal life, she speaks of her very glamorous looking husband and how wonderful he made her feel, “how beautiful”, the film makes no other details of him or their relationship available. and though we do get to meet her grown-up sons, it’s a brief hello. but in those brief cameos, if you read between the lines, the filmmaker has opened up a little peek into maybe the only ‘flaw’ line of Ms. Vreeland’s super dedicated professional, if not downright obsessional life slash career. her grown sons have a strange half-life about them, like they never felt the absolute bonding of mother and child, it’s something that still seems to (sadly) resonate with them, even now.
but what a life, what a career – what superlative brilliance and authority did this “Empress of Fashion” exude, just as naturally as she did breathe. as she says, by way of explanation, she was born in Paris (!!) during the ‘belle epoque’, if you know your art history – you can put your head around that !! . . . and, she came of age during the Roaring Twenties – and, yes !! still in Paris. she didn’t fit into school as a child, and only settled down when she was sent to a dancing school, and yes, apparently she was quite the dancer.
she was of the original generation that was thrilled by the ultra fab: DIAGHLEV, NUREYEV and the Russian ballet, in Paris . . . and that was one visual, richly, profoundly dramatic scene – of course. no kidding. she was ‘found’ when she was full-blown dancing at a nightclub, in Paris of course, in her late teens, I think, something like that. she was noticed both for her dancing, and her style. she was chic, it seems from the get-go. she was wearing CHANEL !! and of course, once she opened her mouth, and the ideas and her full-on creative mind spun out in full gear, the next thing you knew she had her own fashion column. I’ll let the movie fill you in on that, and take over . . . it’s one amazing flight of inspiration, that’s for sure.
TWO LEGENDS: DIANA VREELAND with YVES SAINT LAURENT.
PHOTO BY ROXANNE LOWIT, ‘DIANA VREELAND’ by ELEANOR W DWIGHT, pg 262 – PHOTO C/O DIANAVREELAND.COM
the quote that appears with this photo, pretty much says it all:
“Mrs. Vreeland was one of the most exceptional people I have met in all my life. Her force of character, her glamor, her intelligence, her innate sense of elegance and her exuberance energized all those who meet her.” ~ YVES SAINT LAURENT, Designer, excerpted from ‘Diana Vreeland’ by ELEANOR DWIGHT.
YES !!
there IS an amazing website associated with this film . . . and it is absolutely, and delightfully chock-full of ARCHIVAL PHOTOS & QUOTES !!
it’s a rainy day – go for it !!
see: DIANAVREELAND.COM
WITH INITIAL REPORTING BY: KATE CERIGO