Happy Birthday, Diana Vreeland!
vendredi 29 juillet 2011 
This marks the 108th birthday of legend Diana Vreeland so we are honoring her influence on fashion here today. Born in Paris, France, the divine Mrs. V. began her illustrious career as a fashion writer and editor in 1936, joining Harper's Bazaar as a columnist; her column "Why Don't You . . . ?" quickly garnered a faithful following and she advanced up the ranks, working as HB's fashion editor until the 1960s. In 1962, Mrs. Vreeland left Harper's Bazaar to become Vogue's editor-in-chief for nine years after which she was hired as a consultant by the Metropolitan Museum of Art to develop their Costume Institute. She was widely considered one of the leading arbiters of style in the United States during her lifetime. Special thanks to editor-at-large Bernie Rothschild for his touching tribute to this star of the fashion world.
Diana "The Queen of Fashion" Vreeland
By Bernie Rothschild
Today we celebrate something very special... before Carine, Emmanuelle, Anna, and Franca ruled the fashion world, there was the woman who taught everyone that pink is the navy blue of India, the woman who noted the importance of the bikini pre-war, and the woman who capitulated that it was Balenciaga who ruled moden fashion: Diana Vreeland, the original and undisputed queen of fashion. As every fashion enthusiast out there knows, Madame D.V. had a very, very interesting life of her own. Having been born in Paris and unable to speak any English when she first arrived in the U.S., she was discovered by another influential editor Carmel Snow and the rest is fashion history. Mrs. Vreeland has been through a lot of history. She was presented to the King of England during her youth; she witnessed the roaring 20s; she was an innovator of the golden age of couture during the 30s; she discovered Lauren Bacall and pre-war fashion during the 40s; she created the glamorous 50s; and she invented the over the top looks and exoticism of the swinging 60s.
Mrs. Vreeland contributed so much through her work as a fashion editor and an exhibition director. According to Visionaire, her dictum could be very fabulous as haiku and her story could top the sale of any best selling books. Who could forget her witty, wonderful rant when she was passed over for the Harper's Bazaar editorship during the late 50s; regarding the magazine's new editor-in-chief, she remarked that a house painter could never ever be an artist and referred to Alex Liberman as the first Yellow Russian ever. During her reign, Mrs. V. inspired everyone from taxi drivers to first ladies and European aristocrats. Her presence in the world of fashion we still feel now. Don't we all wish we could take a glimpse of her garden in hell apartment? Her famous exhibitions? Her glamorous life... Who could forget her fabulous line when she passed away? "Don't stop the music or I'll tell my father." To this day, Diana Vreeland remains one of the truest fashion icons of all time.
Diana Vreeland photograph courtesy of habituallychic.com.
Emmanuelle Alt in Bernie Rothschild, Birthday, Diana Vreeland, Fashion, Style, Vogue US
Reader Comments (23)
Anyway, I decided to look him up on Wikipedia to see if it would mention why he knew French so well. No mention of that, but I was not surprised to learn he had several gay lovers before marrying fashion photographer Berry Berenson and having two sons by her.
Apparently she was a socialite who ran with the rich and famous and it was none other than Diana Vreeland who first set her up as a fashion photog.
Incidentally Berry Berenson was killed on one of the flights that hit the World Trade Center on 9-11. Can you imagine what her two boys have been through? They're 35 and 37, a musician and an actor, I believe. First they learn their father had many gay love affairs (in fact, his first intimate experience with a woman wasn't until he was 38), then their father dies of AIDS when they are in high school, then they lose their mother by a violent death when they were only in their twenties. How screwed up must they be?
Yeah, tangent.
jk
I just want to be special.
;-)
Thanks for reading this post! Nothing beats the original! The Queen and the innovator..It's actually Mrs. V who discovered the colorful Berenson Sisters (Marisa the legendary model, actress, jet-setter and the original queen of the scene and Berry the photographer whose pictures appeared in Vogue boutique section who'll forget the Marisa photograph in capri, Interview, Life etc.). She even named them Mauretania and Berengaria.
https://www.facebook.com/dianavreelandbookandfilm
You should def go check it out!