The Eye Has to Travel

Last week, my mother hit the town to visit the Curzon cinema to see 'Diana Vreeland: The Eye Has to Travel'. It was a superb documentary, here's a little write up about it:

...painting an intimate portrait of a woman we all thought we knew. The film’s most compelling moments are not the high-drama of her career or the celebration of her imagination and singular looks, but rather those that reveal her personal history, vulnerabilities, steely determination and divine triumph.

With deference, Immordino Vreeland unflinchingly charts Mrs. Vreeland’s challenging childhood, fraught with parental strain, insecurities and academic failures, her self-preservation and ultimately her break through — reinventing herself as the dazzling, adventurous woman who would win the heart of ravishing bachelor Reed Vreeland. Wending its way through the Belle Époque in Paris, NYC’s Roaring ‘20s and London’s Swinging ‘60s, the film sparkles with game-changing moments in the history of fashion while still embracing weighty themes such as the evolution of women into roles of power and prominence.

Mrs. Vreeland’s own voice — that fabled mix of polished sophistication and street jargon — tells much of the story, coupled with insights and anecdotes from colleagues and friends like Andy Warhol, Diane Sawyer, Manolo Blahnik and Veruschka. First-time director Immordino Vreeland enlisted the talents of Bent-Jorgen Perlmutt and Frédéric Tcheng, the critically-acclaimed editors of  “Valentino: The Last Emperor.” Together they crafted hundreds of hours of archival footage, interviews, photography, graphics, animation and other visual and musical devices into a seamless collage that is already being touted as a living work of art.

We both loved it and talked about it for days! She is such an icon and I admire her greatly and hope to become like her when I am an eccentric old woman. To top off the wonderful evening, Manolo Blahnik himself was in the audience and talked a bit about his friend Vreeland in the Q&A session after they showed the film. Let's just say omFg. This was my facial expression for about 10 minutes after.

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