“You have to start with my grandmother and her role in inspiring and helping women to find their own voices and careers, passions and loves,” says Alexander Vreeland, grandson of the late, great Diana Vreeland – the iconic fashion editor who was renowned for her fearless and vibrant style.



So we start with Mrs Vreeland, or DV, as Alexander refers to her: “She had an understanding of the kind of life that women wanted to lead and how women wanted to be in control of their own lives, bodies and opportunities – something we really take for granted today. This was really the root of our inspiration to create the perfumes: I believe that empowerment is part of the exaltation and joy of wearing a luxurious fragrance.”

Launched in 2014, the Diana Vreeland fragrance line started out with nine eau de parfum fragrances and a candle. The latest Outrageous collection features three new richer, more intense parfums absolus. Mrs. Vreeland is the figure around which each fragrance is moulded and packaged, so the results are opulent and bold manifestations of her love of Morocco, India or her house in Tunisia, for example. Packaged in typically Vreeland red (who could forget her Billy Baldwin-designed crimson living room?), Alexander explains how the Outrageous collection has “the same palette of ingredients as the eau de parfum fragrances but at a much more intense concentration of oils – around 25%”.

Using the highest quality ingredients “Simply Divine” contains tuberose notes, orange flower and ylang – a symphony of white florals. “Outrageously Vibrant” has rich and fruity creme de cassis, patchouli and oud, whereas “Daringly Different” has smoky oud, leather and orris notes. We love them all, especially the vibrant bottles, designed by Fabien Baron and adorned with contrasting tassels that are distinctly feminine. “We are a woman’s brand: we want to exalt and honour a woman's life and a woman's creations,” Alexander adds.

Mrs Vreeland would certainly be proud, as Alexander notes, “For her, fragrance was a necessity, she liked her perfumes strong and in abundance.” At home, “She kept a bowl of potpourri next to a bowl with sand in for incense burning, air fresheners and porcelain discs that she hung before lightbulbs that she would drop oils onto. She also had Rigaut candles burning and she would inject the pillows with fragrances.”

And to inject a bit of Mrs Vreeland’s spirit into our own lives, what could be better than a spritz of these new, exuberant, truly outrageous fragrances?

Diana Vreeland Outrageous Collection EDP, 100ml, £250 each, are available to buy from Harrods.