Notes from a style sensation

By Noelle McCarthy

New Zealand Herald  - Nov 4, 2014

The legend of editor Diana Vreeland, here with model Marisa Berenson, is showcased in a book of her memos and the film The Eye has to Travel. Picture / Supplied

A dose of Diana Vreeland never fails whenever you're in danger of letting yourself go. Vreeland ran Vogue throughout the 1960s, until she was fired, basically for spending too much money on photoshoots. She famously sent glamazon model Veruschka to Japan, a trip that to this day is still one of the most lavish and expensive in Vogue history, as well as flying the likes of Marisa Berenson to Iran and Lauren Hutton to Ubud.

Vreeland had Vision with a capital V, and she spared no expense attempting to realise it. From Cecil Beaton to Richard Avedon, the greatest photographers of the 20th century were regular collaborators. When she finally left Vogue, it was with the distinction of having taken a fashion magazine and turned it into a bona fide cultural touchstone. The visionary look of Vogue throughout the 60s is a testament to Vreeland's preternatural instinct for what would delight and inspire readers.

As her famous memos attest, it wasn't just the big picture that mattered to her, but also the very smallest details. Collected together in a big handsome book, those memos are a fascinating insight into Vreeland's visual genius, not to mention her terrifying talent for micromanagement. More