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 Bergdorf Goodman Inc. is a luxury department store based on Fifth Avenue in Midtown Manhattan, New York. The company was founded in 1899 by Herman Bergdorf and was later owned and managed by Edwin Goodman, and later his son, Andrew Goodman. To ...

. Subsequently she moved to Italy to manage

Gucci Gucci (, ; ) is an Italian high-end luxury fashion house based in Florence, Italy. Its product lines include handbags, ready-to-wear, footwear, accessories, and home decoration; and it licenses its name and branding to Coty, Inc. for fragrance ...

. Later she was the president of her own firm, Dawn Mello & Associates LLC.

Biography

Dawn Mello was born in

Lynn, Massachusetts Lynn is the eighth-largest municipality in Massachusetts and the largest city in Essex County. Situated on the Atlantic Ocean, north of the Boston city line at Suffolk Downs, Lynn is part of Greater Boston's urban inner core. Settled by E ...

, and studied at the Modern School of Fashion and Design in Boston and the Boston Museum School of Fine Arts. She started her career as an assistant at

B. Altman and Company B. Altman and Company was a luxury department store and chain, founded in 1865 in New York City, New York, by Benjamin Altman. Its flagship store, the B. Altman and Company Building at Fifth Avenue and 34th Street in Midtown Manhattan, ...

in 1959. From 1960 to 1971, she worked at

The May Department Stores Company The May Department Stores Company was an American department store holding company, formerly headquartered in downtown St. Louis, Missouri. It was founded in Leadville, Colorado, by David May in 1877, moving to St. Louis in 1905. After many ch ...

's NY buying office. In 1975, Mello was hired by Bergdorf's then chairman

Ira Neimark Ira Neimark (December 12, 1921 – April 18, 2019) was an American author, lecturer, and retail executive who served as Chairman and CEO of Bergdorf Goodman from 1975 to 1992. His reintroduction of French haute couture to New YorkBernadine Morr ...

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 Michael David Kors (born Karl Anderson Jr. August 9, 1959) is an American fashion designer. He is the chief creative officer of his brand, Michael Kors, which sells men's and women's ready-to-wear, accessories, watches, jewelry, footwear, and f ...

. In the 1980s, she was a mentor to

Donna Karan Donna Karan (, born Donna Ivy Faske), also known as "DK", is an American fashion designer and the creator of the Donna Karan New York and DKNY clothing labels. Early life Karan was born Donna Ivy Faske to mother Helen "Queenie" Faske (née Rabin ...

. Dawn Mello was hired in November 1989 as

'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. Dawn Mello hired

Tom Ford Thomas Carlyle Ford (born August 27, 1961) is an American fashion designer and filmmaker. He launched his eponymous luxury brand in 2005, having previously served as the creative director at Gucci and Yves Saint Laurent. Ford wrote and directe ...

to oversee Gucci women's ready-to-wear collection. She quit after 5 years in Italy and returned to Bergdorf Goodman as president of the company. In 1998, she purchased a penthouse in New York that was previously owned by

Doris Duke Doris Duke (November 22, 1912 – October 28, 1993) was an American billionaire tobacco heiress, philanthropist, art collector, Horticulture, horticulturalist, and socialite. She was often called "the richest girl in the world". Her great wealt ...

. Mello appeared in the 2013 documentary ''

Scatter My Ashes at Bergdorf's ''Scatter My Ashes at Bergdorf's'' is a US 2013 documentary feature directed by Matthew Miele about the New York City luxury goods department store Bergdorf Goodman, situated on Fifth Avenue where it meets Grand Army Plaza. The film's title is li ...

''. Mello died on February 16, 2020 at the age of 88.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mello, Dawn 1931 births 2020 deaths American fashion businesspeople People from Lynn, Massachusetts American expatriates in Italy