Vreeland, Diana

(1903-1989)

   Diana Vreeland was a fashion legend who was born in Paris to a socially prominent family. She married Thomas Reed Vreeland in 1924 and the couple moved to New York in 1935. Vreeland worked under Harper's Bazaars editor-in-chief, Carmel Snow, from 1939 until 1962, when she moved on to Vogue magazine where she quickly became editor-in-chief in 1963. While at Vogue, Vreeland transformed the magazine during a time when the fashion world was undergoing a renaissance. Street fashion, never before popular in fashion magazines, filled Vogue's pages in Vreeland's distinctive style combining fantasy with glamour. The "youthquake" movement of the 1960s saw the mod look, featuring unisex models such as Twiggy and Penelope Tree, and the hippie and futuristic movement, with bare-breasted Rudi Gernreich fashions and Paco Rabanne's modernistic looks. Vreeland worked with some of the most famous fashion photographers of her time, namely Louise Dahl-Wolfe and Richard Avedon. She helped launch many careers. She was fired from Vogue in 1971, due to the publisher claim that her editorial style was too costly.

   In 1972, Vreeland assumed the role of creative director for the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York and produced twelve exhibitions before she left in 1985. She created a new concept of how to present costume in the context of the paintings, sculptures, and music of the period. Her first show was The World of Balenciaga in 1973 followed by The Tens, Twenties and Thirties—Inventive Clothes: 1909-1939, featuring forty-one magnificent Vionnet dresses. Her shows set a new standard for costume museums and Vreeland will be remembered for her flamboyant style and extravagant personality.