Polly Mellen, a Talented, Effusive Vogue Editor for Decades, Has Died

Her stint at Harper’s Bazaar would be short-lived. In 1952 she married “a Princeton man” and moved to Philadelphia where she had two children. Divorced eight years later, she returned to the fashion fold. In 1965 she married Henry Wigglesworth Mellen and in 1967 she followed Vreeland to Vogue, where she started off with a bang. “One Saturday morning, I had just come back from the grocery store when my husband called out the window and said, ‘Mrs. Vreeland’s on the phone.’ I ran up the stairs, and she said… ‘How is your passport?’ I said, ‘My passport?’ ‘Yes, because we want you to do a story with Dick Avedon in Japan.’” Mellen set out with the photographer and the model Veruschka on a five week odyssey loosely inspired by the Tale of the Genji; the result was a 26-page spread, “The Great Fur Caravan,” which is said to be the most expensive fashion editorial ever produced.

This is but one of many memorable Mellen-styled Vogue stories. Others, in chronological order, included the 1967 Twiggy cover with the painted flower eye, a symbol of Youthquake, with Avedon; “The Story of O,” with Helmut Newton for May 1975; the infamous bathing house shoot with Deborah Turbeville, also for May 1975; and the unforgettable image of Natassja Kinski, naked, being kissed by a snake for October 1981. Anna Wintour, Global Editorial Director of Vogue and Chief Content Officer of Condé Nast, said, “Polly was a mercurial grand dame with boundless energy, enthusiasm, and a deep love for her work—mixed with an admiration and respect for the creative process. She was an adored figure in the halls of Vogue and a huge part of our history. Working with the likes of Richard Avedon and Helmut Newton, she was always fearless in her pursuit of the image, whether it was to create beauty, or push boundaries, or, sometimes, do both at the same time.”