Dawn Mello

Dawn Mello (October 5, 1931 – February 16, 2020) was an American fashion retail executive and consultant and the one-time fashion director and president of Bergdorf Goodman. Subsequently she moved to Italy to manage Gucci. Later she was the president of her own firm, Dawn Mello & Associates LLC.[1][2]

Biography

Dawn Mello was born in Lynn, Massachusetts, and studied at the Modern School of Fashion and Design in Boston and the Boston Museum School of Fine Arts.[3]

She started her career as an assistant at B. Altman and Company in 1959. From 1960 to 1971, she worked at The May Department Stores Company's NY buying office.[3]

In 1975, Mello was hired by Bergdorf's then chairman Ira Neimark to become the store's fashion director. It was during this tenure at the store that she is credited with discovering and promoting the talents and designs of Michael Kors.[4][1] In the 1980s, she was a mentor to Donna Karan.[5]

Dawn Mello was hired in November 1989 as Gucci's executive vice president and chief designer. She reduced the number of stores from +1,000 to 180 in a move to rebuild the brand’s exclusivity. She also reduced the number of items sold by Gucci from 22,000 to 7,000. She revived the Bamboo bag and the Gucci loafer.[6] Dawn Mello hired Tom Ford to oversee Gucci women's ready-to-wear collection.[7]

She quit after 5 years in Italy and returned to Bergdorf Goodman as president of the company.[8]

In 1998, she purchased a penthouse in New York that was previously owned by Doris Duke.[9]

Mello appeared in the 2013 documentary Scatter My Ashes at Bergdorf's.[10]

Mello died on February 16, 2020, at the age of 88.[11]

References
  1. La Ferla, Ruth (4 March 2009). "What the Fashion Seers Didn't See Coming". New York Times. Retrieved 20 September 2015.
  2. "Dawn Mello: Executive Profile & Biography - Businessweek". bloomberg.com. Retrieved 2015-09-20.
  3. Barmash, Isadore (1989-10-04). "President of Bergdorf Is Leaving for Gucci Job". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2020-08-09.
  4. Wilson, Cintra (31 August 2011). "How Michael Kors was Discovered". 5th at 58th. Archived from the original on 10 September 2015. Retrieved 20 September 2015.
  5. Betts, Kate (10 September 2010). "Donna Karan celebrates 25 years in fashion - The Daily Beast". The Daily Beast. Retrieved 20 September 2015.
  6. Anderson, Lisa (15 January 2015). "Born-again Status". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 9 August 2020.
  7. Tagliabue, John (1995-12-14). "Gucci Gains Ground With Revival of Style;Belt-Tightening in the Work Force And Lavish Spending on Marketing". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2020-08-09.
  8. Forden, Sara G. (2012). The House of Gucci : a Sensational Story of Murder, Madness, Glamour, and Greed. HarperCollins. ISBN 9780062222671. OCLC 841311813.
  9. "Manhattan Transfers". Observer. 1998-05-11. Retrieved 2020-08-09.
  10. Turan, Kenneth (2 May 2013). "Review: 'Scatter My Ashes at Bergdorf's' engages the senses". LA Times. Retrieved 20 September 2015.
  11. La Ferla, Ruth (February 17, 2020). "Dawn Mello, Who Revived Bergdorf Goodman and Gucci, Dies at 88". The New York Times. Retrieved February 18, 2020.
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