Cherie Gil Shines as Diana Vreeland in Full Gallop
When in Manila and you are a fan of both Diana Vreeland and Cherie Gil, we highly recommend you see Full Gallop, the one-woman play depicting Diana Vreeland, the noted fashion editor and the original Devil Who Wears Prada.
The set of Full Gallop
Full Gallop follows Vreeland after her unceremonious firing at Vogue. The play is set in her Park Avenue apartment, decorated in her signature style: decadent, opulent, overlaid with flowers, and covered in red from top to bottom. She has just come home from a four-month break in Europe, and she throws an impromptu dinner party, hoping that a wealthy guest will finance a magazine of her own. Throughout, she discusses her life, travels, and thoughts as her friends urge her to take a job at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Vreeland is one of fashion’s biggest icons, bringing a fresh and outrageous take to the industry. When she was at Harper’s Bazaar, Vreeland popularized a column called “Why Don’t You?” a list of outrageous suggestions for readers. Some famous examples are “Why don’t you turn your child into an Infanta for a fancy-dress party?” and “Why don’t you wash your blond child’s hair in dead champagne?” She took fashion so seriously that her fashion shoots were set around the world with elaborate and expensive looks.
At Vogue, she educated readers through travel, using her lavish editorials set in Tahiti, Bali, and other exotic locales. She was fired in 1971, presumably because her shoots were expensive, one of which was estimated to have cost $1 million.
Vreeland is also a character. Her distinct look, voice, and manner of speaking are unique and instantly recognizable. And that’s where Gil comes in, tastefully portraying Vreeland without resorting to caricature. Gil completely loses herself in the role, but her portrayal is subtle.
