Diana Vreeland: The Eye Has to Travel is a 2011 documentary film directed by Lisa Immordino Vreeland, with co-direction by Bent-Jorgen Perlmutt and Frédéric Tcheng. With a runtime of 1 hour and 26 minutes (86 minutes), the film explores the life and legacy of Diana Vreeland (1903–1989), the formidable fashion editor and cultural force who redefined style through her work at Harper’s Bazaar, Vogue, and the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute.
Born Diana Dalziel in Paris, France, to an American socialite mother and a British father, Vreeland grew up between Europe and the United States. Her childhood was marked by a strained relationship with her mother, who allegedly criticized her looks—a wound that would later inform her belief that beauty was not about perfection but about originality. She found solace in dance, studying under the Russian ballet master Mikhail Fokine before marrying banker Reed Vreeland in 1924 and relocating to London.
It was in London, during the height of the Roaring Twenties, that Vreeland immersed herself in the city’s elite fashion scene, rubbing shoulders with figures like Coco Chanel, who became both a mentor and an influence. She moved back to New York in the early 1930s, where her distinctive personal style and sharp wit caught the attention of Carmel Snow, the editor-in-chief of Harper’s Bazaar, who offered her a job in 1936.
At Harper’s Bazaar, Vreeland quickly became one of the most influential voices in fashion journalism. Her “Why Don’t You?” column, which proposed wildly extravagant lifestyle suggestions (“Why don’t you wash your child’s hair in Champagne?”), set the tone for her visionary approach. She worked closely with photographers like Richard Avedon and revolutionized the way fashion was presented, favoring dramatic, narrative-driven editorials over static product showcases.
Her 1963 move to Vogue as editor-in-chief cemented her reputation as a tastemaker. She transformed the magazine into a platform for high art and high fashion, championing unconventional beauty, exoticism, and cultural exploration. She was one of the first to celebrate models like Veruschka, Twiggy, and Marisa Berenson, and her editorial approach was cinematic—each issue felt like a world unto itself. She embraced the youthquake movement, psychedelic prints, and global influences, pushing boundaries in a way that both thrilled and scandalized the fashion establishment.
After being dismissed from Vogue in 1971, Vreeland found a new calling at the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute, where she pioneered the modern fashion exhibition. Shows like The World of Balenciaga and Romantic and Glamorous Hollywood Design turned fashion into a museum-worthy art form, setting the standard for contemporary blockbuster exhibitions.
The Eye Has to Travel brings Vreeland’s world to life through a collage of archival footage, interviews with designers and colleagues—including Manolo Blahnik, Diane von Fürstenberg, and Anna Sui—and narration drawn from her own words. The film, which premiered at the Telluride Film Festival and later screened at the Toronto International Film Festival, was praised for its dynamic storytelling and its ability to capture the energy, wit, and theatricality of a woman who declared, “I loathe nostalgia. I am a great believer in the present.”
