The beginning of the 21st century could blatantly be categorized as the time when there is a lot of sameness and desire to belong. It seems that the consumer lost their edge and sense of uniqueness while constantly chasing after the latest trends, celebrity behavior and peer approval. This mass-absorbed tendency combined with the escalating need to connect to the past has more or less lead to hindered fashion evolution and innovation. In these moments of lack of excitement and individuality in the fashion world, we look back in time in search of people who stood for originality and uniqueness. One such example is definitely Diana Vreeland.
Know best as the force behind magazines like Harper’s Bazaar and Vogue and as the curator of the Costume Institute of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Vreeland found the most playful and magical ways of elevating and abstracting the everyday.
As the editor of two of the most important fashion magazines of the 20th century, Diana was fully aware of the impact she had in society. She believed in challenging the expectations and comfort of the consumer and giving them what they never knew they needed.
“What these magazines gave was a point of view. Most people haven’t got a point of view; they need to have it given to them – and what’s more, they expect it from you.”
Vreeland traveled the world in search of inspiration. She found it in different cultures and countries and was always fascinated by the different perception people had of color. “I adore pink! It’s the navy blue of India”
One of the most important colors in Vreeland’s career was definitely red. She did not understand the color orange and loathed it but red she saw as the great clarifier – the shade that was so bright, cleansing and revealing. “I can’t imagine becoming bored with red” she once said, “It will be like becoming bored with the person you love.”
‘I want Rococo with a spot of Gothic in it and a bit of Buddhist temple'”
Diana Vreelnd saw the world in a very different way than her early 20th century contemporaries – she found inspiration and ideas in the most obscure and understated of sources. She was fascinated by color and was in a constant search of new shades and color combinations. She was enamoured by the color of the sky but not just any sky but the Northern skies of Europe. As the legend put it herself: “I don’t like the Southern skies. For me, they are not…enough.”
Diana was also fascinated by the way Cristóbal Balenciaga used color in his works. According to her, Cristóbal had the most wonderful sense of color – tete de negre, cafe au lait, his violets, magentas and mauves were all colors that inspired Vreeland.