Diana Vreeland: The Eye Has to Travel. Performance by Diana Vreeland, directed by Lisa Immordino Vreeland, Frédéric Tcheng, and Bent Jorgen Perlmutt, 2012.
For decades, Diana Vreeland was one of the leading authorities in fashion through eccentric self-taught aptitude and fearless stylistic audacity. This film reveals the icon’s youth in Paris and how she became to be a leading magazine columnist and editor. The Eye Has to Travel features her memoirs to writer George Plimpton and interviews with old employees, friends, and collaborators. It celebrates a time when style had a direct and consequential relationship with changing the world. Vreeland challenged society’s preconceptions with her authority and introduced a new definition of beauty. She refused to stop after retiring from Vogue and obtained the role of curator at The MET’s fashion institute.
To Diana Vreeland, work was never a burden but always an opportunity. She stood for the power of critical thinking and has shown me to question the world and how I interact with it. I will work with vitality, enthusiasm, and an open mind like Vreeland, delivering change and forward movement.
Vreeland, Diana. D.V. Edited by George Plimpton and Christopher Hemphill, 1984.
In her autobiography, Diana Vreeland takes us around the world, revealing her obsession with fashion and dropping timeless sayings. Her inflections and conversational writing style evoke the book’s intimate tone. Vreeland invites all kinds of readers into this otherwise exclusive conversation with her authentic and unmistakable voice.
During the period when Vreeland wielded power and influence, she led by example, embracing the new opportunities for women. She valued being an employed woman with “things to do.” Work was something that she ignited all her strengths and gave her great pleasure and satisfaction, but she couldn’t do it alone. Her days involved staff, assistants, photographers (such as Richard Avedon and David Bailey), and stylists who helped expand the range of their impact. I am excited to collaborate with a team of professionals while learning about what goes on behind the scenes and discovering the answers to my essential questions.
Wintour, Anna, performer. The September Issue. Directed by R. J. Cutler, A&E IndieFilms; Actual Reality Pictures, 2009.
With over 900 pages, the 2007 September issue of Vogue remains the single largest issue in the magazine’s history. The September Issue is the documentary that captured Vogue editor Anna Wintour and Vogue’s creative team as the issue was being prepared, achieving popularity for revealing the coveted inner workings of the magazine. Documentarian R.J. Cutler followed Wintour for months and attended high fashion editorial shoots, which famously reintroduced the rest of the world to Grace Coddington.
This close look at the creative process behind a record-breaking issue has both answered and provoked many questions. The September issue of Vogue is the largest and most important magazine because it introduces the start of the Fashion year just before Fashion Month begins in New York. Currently, there is debate surrounding the importance of the September issue because of the accessible nature of our digital world. Magazines can comment and predict trends all day, all year, not just at the beginning of each month, year, or season. W Magazine has reduced the number of issues they print and release six instead of the standard twelve per year. They are beginning to trailblaze the future of magazines, and I am excited to learn more about their plans and the creation of their new and improving digital presence.
Coddington, Grace, and Micheal Roberts. Grace: A Memoir. Random House Publishing Group, 2012.
Grace: A Memoir is the autobiography of the life thus far of fashion icon Grace Coddington. In her own words, Grace explains her admission into the industry, her success as a model, and how a tragic car accident years later caused her to shift gears and begin searching for other avenues of involvement. After her recovery, she was interviewed by British Vogue’s Editor, Beatrix Miller, and hired as a Junior Editor. After nineteen years as Photo Editor with British Vogue, she moved to New York to work for Calvin Klein. In July 1988, she joined Anna Wintour at American Vogue, where she remains the magazine’s creative director, or “the jewel in the crown,” according to Wintour.
This project celebrates my admission into the magazine world. While Grace Coddington has produced some of fashion’s most memorable imagery, she has also occupied almost every role imaginable within the industry at large. Like Coddington, this book remains one of fashion’s best-kept secrets, and anyone interested in fashion must first look to Coddington and her legacy for advice and insight. I am hopeful that my time at W Magazine will provide insight into which avenue I might want to explore further.
“The Timeless yet Evolving Power of Magazines.” Insights on the American Consumer. MRI-Simmons, www.mrisimmons.com/2021/09/23/ the-timeless-yet-evolving-power-of-magazines/. Accessed 9 Mar. 2022.
MRI-Simmons, the self-identified, ” essential source of trusted consumer insights,” uses “survey methodologies with innovative technology and advanced data” to produce consumer surveys. This report argues “The Timeless yet Evolving Power of Magazines.” by analyzing a range of data. They begin with the magnitude of reach and say, “The print and digital reach of top magazine publishers (Condé Nast, Hearst, and Meredith) keeps pace with that of top tech sites (Amazon, Apple, Facebook, Google). Among women 18+, top magazine publishers outperform top tech sites.”
They provide data surrounding trust and write, “One of the consequences of all the information everywhere, however, is that we no longer know whom to trust. Today, traditional media is more trusted than owned or social media, and magazine readers are more likely than viewers of websites or T.V. to consider the content trustworthy. The data tells us that trust in print magazine brands goes beyond the tangible page. Adults aged 18-34 are 44% more likely to follow their favorite magazines on social media, and they’re also 38% more likely to trust magazines’ social posts than other social media sources”.
They factor in the unique touch and feel and explain that “The materiality of print magazines is increasingly unique, and at the same time increasingly valued – even among the youngest generations. Sixty-four percent of 18-34-year-olds agree that “even in the digital age, I love the touch and feel of a printed magazine…Particularly during COVID, magazines provided relief from over-digitalized entertainment. Fifty-two percent of women read or browsed print magazines during the pandemic, and 41% say they’re more welcome now than pre-COVID”,
Ultimately they conclude with a growth report revealing that print magazines are now stronger than ever. This data will be essential to refer to during my presentation because although the fashion industry now appears sufficient on its digital presence alone, there will always be demand for print Magazines in our world.