Don't be boring - Invent something.

"Style is everything...style is a way of life. Without it, you're nothing."

-Diana Vreeland

If somebody approached me one day before I had started my Fashion, Communication and Promotion course and had asked me if I knew who Diana Vreeland was, my response would have been no. However, now I can honestly say she is one of the most inspirational women I have ever come across.

During week 2 of University, we were all made to watch a fashion film called 'Diana Vreeland- The Eye has to Travel'. The film documented the life of Diana Vreeland who I soon found out had a major role in the fashion world. 

Initially having opened up her own lingerie business, Diana had something very unique about her and being able to understand what women's lives would be. Soon after, her talent became recognised and she followed on being the fashion editor of Harper's Bazaar.

During her time at Harper's Bazaar, she created things and saw things that nobody else did. She believed that 'one can make fashion, or one is fashion' and she certainly was fashion for that time! 

Moving on to the 60's, the film documented how Diana's career changed from being the editor of Harper's Bazaar to then being the editor of Vogue. During the film, I noticed how the era in which she was editor of Vogue was very much about the 'freedom of the 60s' in which people listened to the Beatles and wanted to see something innovative that they had never seen before... and Diana brought just that!

I felt Diana Vreeland captured things that nobody else would normally pick up on. Rather than capturing a model looking like a mannequin in a shop window, she made them all have their own personalities and individual styles; taking up this whole idea of the 60s by being free enough to be whoever you wanted to be. She was the one who initially celebrated Barbara Streisen's nose and twisted conventions by making people proud of their faults rather than it being a negative. 

The work ethic that Diana Vreeland harboured was one that inspired me and all my peers. The success she had throughout her entire career made me feel motivated to want to be the best I could be and rather than being boring, to invent something!!!!

I hope this has inspired you to go out and watch 'Diana Vreeland- The Eye Has to Travel' for yourself or even read the book as its definitely worth the effort and time; as Diana Vreeland wasn't just anybody...she was fashion!

Manisha x