Quotes from luminaries are always something that I’m jotting down in inspiration notebooks and the backs of used paper (in an effort to do my part in keeping things green, of course). Going through a recent notebook that I’ve kept by my side for the past few months, I found a quote by Diana Vreeland – who up to that point was one of my fashion idols. I went on to read some words from the publishing and social fixture of yesteryear and it read: “What do I think about the way most people dress? Most people are not something one thinks about.” I wondered to myself why I would have even kept this in a notebook that was to be a safe haven for creativity and inspiration. It was a grotesque statement to me – one free of compassion or concern for others. It’s amazing how so much has changed since the days of Diana hosting dinner parties and styling the pages of Bazaar. Maybe my displeasure wasn’t even about what the quote suggested but more of what it stood for: a clear, concise change of the times. One of the most profound differences of Diana’s day and today is: people actually give a damn about one another today. There aren’t these hands-off, I have better things to deal with attitudes towards one another any longer – not in digital, not in fashion, not in the general consciousness. Or at least, not in the people that I want to break bread with and build with.
We’ve seen internet trends move faster than the speed of light, whipping us around, and leading us to fall straight on our asses, if we can’t keep up. Ironically enough in the niche of fashion, one of those Internet trends has been the popularization of personal style that happens from the way that everyday people are dressing themselves. Hey Diana, I bet you never saw that one coming. Anyone with ability to connect their devices to the Internet, has the advantage to become empowered by this bounty of information. We can choose to be the women and men we’ve always dreamed of being. It’s an exciting time to be alive. And Mrs. Vreeland, as much as I respect all the ground work you provided to our industry, and as much as you’ve served as an inspiration to a girl that wanted to nothing more than to live her life in glossy pages of fashion magazines, you would never survive a day in the Information Age. This is the time is for the individuals, for the dreamers, for the innovators. And slowly but surely, all the dinosaurs will become extinct.
Resources:
Diana Vreeland: The Eye Has to Travel
The End of Business as Usual by Brian Solis
Vreeland’s Style & Jansen House of Interior Decorating
I really enjoyed reading this post.
I’ve often thought that despite the foundations of the fashion industry having been laid by people such as Diana Vreeland, it doesn’t mean we should permanently live in houses built from their words.
Fashion needs to become more receptive to social and cultural changes in order to become less elitist; and in turn more accessible.
Comment hmmmm, how about, what’s going on? Its Jerry, awesome site, keep doing your thing. Hit me up at my email jrv784@gmail.com. lost my phone and contacts, ciao!