Burak Eceral
Aaron Krach
Critical Studio: Everyday Objects
Diana Vreeland: The Eye Must Travel
14 April 2021
Diana Vreeland has a personality that I have never seen before. It is not debatable that she is so full of genius, and she has a wild nature. During her era, she came up with the most outrageous ideas that caught not only NYC but the world by a storm.
One of the most outrageous moments of her life would be the time that she collaborated with the Costume Institute and shared these historic pieces of clothing with the public through exhibitions at MET Museum. She visits the archive and selects pieces to create exhibitions that celebrate a historical period. As a result of her perfectionist and exotic nature, Diana constructs the showrooms by creating a storyline between the mannequins by assigning them distinct personalities and decorates the room with over-the-top props. This level of attention to detail upgraded the definition of fashion and made the MET a hot spot for the city. Although her vision provided a successful launch, she also had a controversial thought about history which inspired me to write about this section of the documentary.
Diana certainly does not have an academic background in art history. She notes that the world taught her everything she knows today. All of her colleagues state that she tends to magnify a specific aspect of the period and create concepts around it. Her limitless creativity verges her to come up with distorted pictures about the history and treat them as authentic ones. She often chooses fantasy over historical truths. Two examples for this issue can be that she has never been to India due to her high expectations and the exaggerated Victorian wig that she got designed. Her colleagues explain this situation as an addiction to fantasy and an act of storytelling that helps Diana develop breathtaking compositions but also creates debate about her ethics.
