The last image that appears on her Instagram, which still has more than 200 thousand followers, is that of a naive portrait that Gloria Vanderbilt made of Truman Capote in 1956. It was published by Anderson Cooper, the son who announced his death ago. five years (at 95 years old), the same day that his mother would have turned one hundred.
Gloria Vanderbilt wrote her own story as a painter, writer, fashion designer, muse and entrepreneur. A true influencer who invented designer jeans in the seventies – she named them after her and gave them a luxurious look – before creating dresses and perfumes. She earned more money than she inherited. In her case, quite a merit.
Cooper was not the only one to remember the legacy of the New York socialite who, through time, failure, will and a lot of talent, shook off the label of “poor rich girl” made to her measure. Artist Ana Jarén (@anajarenillustration) has created a limited edition of illustrations that reflect her vision of the Vanderbilt universe.
As a courtesy of their perfumes, they have been sent to 100 of the most influential women in the world of culture today to recognize their work and the message they send to future generations through their work. The swan logo carved into the glass is recognizable from its first and powerful fragrance, a big boom in the eighties. It remains clearly visible in the brand’s most recent proposal, Vanderbilt In Red.
Gloria was one of Capote’s swans, although her fascination with this elegant bird comes from the play The Swan, with which she made her acting debut in the 1950s. She felt betrayed by the writer, like all those ladies of New York’s highest society who took him under their very broad wings only to discover later that – oh, surprise – the writer was going to use his confidences to get in the way of a long creative crisis.
If he had painted Truman’s painting after reading the story La côte basque (1965), published in the press, there would not have been the slightest trace of innocence left in it. Capote fell into ostracism; she continued to fly to display her prolific creativity. A thousand lives in one and a great style that today we still want to copy.