Former magazine editor Diana Vreeland shines in new documentary. (Courtesy of Samuel Goldwyn Films)

The world of fashion is chocked full of numerous characters worthy of their own documentaries.

We’ve seen Anna Wintour profiled in The September Issue and a countless number of actresses try to take on the life of CoCo Chanel. However, one prominent fashion icon, Diana Vreeland, has seemed to slip between the cracks of cinema’s past…until now.
In the slick new documentary Diana Vreeland: The Eye Has to Travel, directors Lisa Immordino Vreeland, Bent-Jorgen Perlmutt and Frédéric Tcheng craft a seriously compelling story around the likes of Driana Vreeland, the eccentric mid 20th century editor at Harper Bazaar.

Vreeland is the perfect subject for a documentary. With family connections to the likes of George Washington and Franciss Scott-Key, the magazine mogul is a fountain of fabulous footage.
In terms of her work at fashion magazines, Vreeland was best known for her column titled “Why Don’t You?”

In it, Vreeland would provide sometimes useful, sometimes bizarre advice for the chic clothing-minded.

The film’s three directors had their work cut out for them as the eccentric icon came with countless hours of found footage.

Despite their bloated archive, the three directors used brevity to their advantage and ultimately delivered one of the year’s best documentaries.

Perhaps the only critique one came make of Diana Vreeland: The Eye Has to Travel is the documentary’s inability to dive deep into the story.

However, considering the movie is set in the world of fashion, perhaps being shallow comes with the territory.

Diana Vreeland: The Eye Has to Travel opens Friday at the Angelika Plano and Magnolia Theater in Uptown.