Harriette Allen "Polly" Mellen (June 18, 1924 – December 11 or 12, 2024) was an American stylist and

fashion editor A fashion editor is a person that supervises the process of creating, developing and presenting content for the fashion department of a magazine, Web site, newspaper or television program. The work of a fashion editor can be quite varied and may h ...

. For more than 60 years, she served as the fashion editor at ''

Harper's Bazaar ''Harper's Bazaar'' (stylized as ''Harper's BAZAAR'') is an American monthly women's fashion magazine. Bazaar has been published in New York City since November 2, 1867, originally as a weekly publication entitled ''Harper's Bazar''."Corporat ...

'' and ''

Vogue Vogue may refer to: Business * ''Vogue'' (magazine), a US fashion magazine ** British ''Vogue'', a British fashion magazine ** '' Vogue Adria'', a fashion magazine for former Yugoslav countries ** ''Vogue Arabia'', an Arab fashion magazine ** ' ...

''. From 1991 to 1999, she was the

creative director A creative director is a person who makes high-level creative decisions; oversees the creation of creative assets such as advertisements, products, events, or logos; and directs and translates the creative people who produce the end results. Creat ...

of '' Allure''. Mellen formally retired from

Condé Nast Publications Condé is a French place name and personal name. It is ultimately derived from a Celtic word, "Condate", meaning "confluence" (of two rivers) - from which was derived the Romanised form "Condatum", in use during the Roman period, and thence to ...

in 1994 and remained a consultant on various projects.

Background

Harriette Allen was born on June 18, 1924, to a wealthy family in

West Hartford, Connecticut West Hartford is a town in Hartford County, Connecticut, United States, west of downtown Hartford, Connecticut, Hartford. The town is part of the Capitol Planning Region, Connecticut, Capitol Planning Region. The population was 64,083 at the 20 ...

, and attended

Miss Porter's School Miss Porter's School (MPS) is a private college preparatory school for girls founded in 1843 in Farmington, Connecticut. The school draws students from many of the 50 U.S. states, as well as from abroad. International students comprised 14% i ...

. She always preferred to go by "Polly". She worked as a

nurse's aide Unlicensed assistive personnel (UAP) are paraprofessionals who assist individuals with physical disabilities, mental impairments, and other health care needs with their activities of daily living (ADLs). UAPs also provide bedside care—inclu ...

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

Career

Harriette Allen moved to New York in 1949. She began her career as the protégée of

Diana Vreeland Diana Vreeland (September 29, 1903 – August 22, 1989) was an American fashion columnist and editor. She worked for the fashion magazine ''Harper's Bazaar'' and as editor-in-chief at '' Vogue'', later becoming a special consultant to the Costume ...

. Her start in the fashion was with

Lord & Taylor Lord & Taylor was an American department store chain founded in 1826 by Samuel Lord. It had 86 full-line stores in the Northeastern United States at its peak in the 2000s, and 38 locations at the time of its liquidation in 2021. The Lord & Tay ...

as a salesgirl and display designer. Under Vreeland's tutelage, Mellen became an editor at ''

'', and later at American ''

''. In the course of her career, Mellen collaborated with such photographers as

Richard Avedon Richard Avedon (May 15, 1923 – October 1, 2004) was an American fashion and portrait photographer. He worked for ''Harper's Bazaar'', '' Vogue'' and '' Elle'' specializing in capturing movement in still pictures of fashion, theater and ...

Helmut Newton Helmut Newton (né Neustädter; 31 October 192023 January 2004) was a German-Australian photographer. The ''The New York Times, New York Times'' described him as a "prolific, widely imitated fashion photographer whose provocative, erotically ch ...

, and

Irving Penn Irving Penn (June 16, 1917October 7, 2009) was an American photographer known for his fashion photography, portraits, and still lifes. Penn's career included work at ''Vogue (magazine), Vogue'' magazine, and independent advertising work for clie ...

. Richard Avedon said of her: "She was and still is the most creative sittings editor I ever worked with."The Fashion Spot – Polly Mellen – Editor
/ref> Mellen was known for her enthusiastic support of certain young designers both in the personal and business aspects of their lives. "She’s never lost her enthusiasm, in a field where everyone seems so jaded," said

Isaac Mizrahi Isaac Mizrahi (born October 14, 1961) is an American fashion designer, actor, singer, television presenter and chief designer of the Isaac Mizrahi brand for Xcel Brands. Based in New York City, he is best known for his eponymous fashion lines. M ...

Geoffrey Beene Geoffrey Beene (born Samuel Albert Bozeman Jr.; August 30, 1924 – September 28, 2004) was an American fashion designer. Beene was one of New York's most famous fashion designers, recognized for his artistic and technical skills and for creatin ...

called her "the industry's cheerleader", and

Calvin Klein Calvin Richard Klein (born November 19, 1942) is an American fashion designer. In 1968, he launched the company that later became Calvin Klein. In addition to clothing, he has also given his name to a range of perfumes, watches, and jewellery. ...

referred to her as "the quintessential fashion editor". In 1999, she left ''Allure'' to work freelance. Mellen appeared in a number of documentaries on the

fashion industry Fashion is a term used interchangeably to describe the creation of clothing, footwear, Fashion accessory, accessories, cosmetics, and jewellery of different cultural aesthetics and their mix and match into Clothing, outfits that depict distinct ...

including '' Unzipped'' and ''

Catwalk A fashion show is an event put on by a fashion designer to showcase their upcoming line of clothing and/or accessories during a fashion week. Fashion shows debut every season, particularly the spring/summer and fall/winter seasons. This is where ...

'' (both 1995) and

HBO Home Box Office (HBO) is an American pay television service, which is the flagship property of namesake parent-subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is based a ...

's ''In Vogue: The Editor's Eye'' (2012).

Personal life and death

In 1952, she married businessman Louis Baker Bell; they had two children and divorced in 1960. She was married to publisher Henry Wigglesworth Mellen from 1965 until his death in 2014. Mellen

turned 100 A centenarian is a person who has reached the age of 100. Because life expectancies at birth worldwide are well below 100, the term is invariably associated with longevity. The United Nations estimated that there were 316,600 living centenarian ...

on June 18, 2024, and died at a care facility in

Salisbury, Connecticut Salisbury () is a New England town, town situated in Litchfield County, Connecticut, United States. The town is the northwesternmost in the state of Connecticut; the Connecticut-Massachusetts-New York tri-state marker is located at the northwest ...

later that year, variously reported as on December 11 or December 12.

Awards

* 1994: CFDA Lifetime Achievement award

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Mellen, Polly Allen 1924 births 2024 deaths 20th-century American journalists 20th-century American women 21st-century American women American women centenarians American women journalists Fashion editors Journalists from Connecticut Miss Porter's School alumni People from West Hartford, Connecticut World War II nurses