Tamara Mellon (; born 7 July 1967) is a British fashion entrepreneur who co-founded the luxury footwear brand
. Subsequently, Mellon founded her
namesake
A namesake is a person, geographic location, or other entity bearing the name of another.
History
The word is first attested around 1635, and probably comes from the phrase "for one's name's sake",
which originates in English Bible translations ...
luxury footwear brand, Tamara Mellon, with co-founder and CEO Jill Layfield and CDO Tania Spinelli in 2016.
Early life
Mellon was born Tamara Yeardye in
London
London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
on 7 July 1967. The eldest of three siblings, she is a daughter of Tom Yeardye, a stunt double for
Rock Hudson
Rock Hudson (born Roy Harold Scherer Jr.; November 17, 1925 – October 2, 1985) was an American actor. One of the most popular movie stars of his time, he had a screen career spanning more than three decades. A prominent heartthrob in the Golde ...
, and Ann (Davis) Yeardye, a former
Chanel
Chanel ( , ) is a French high-end luxury fashion house founded in 1910 by Coco Chanel in Paris. Chanel specializes in women's ready-to-wear, luxury goods, and accessories and licenses its name and branding to Luxottica for eyewear. Chanel is ...
model.
In 1976, the family relocated to
Beverly Hills, California
Beverly Hills is a city located in Los Angeles County, California. A notable and historic suburb of Greater Los Angeles, it is in a wealthy area immediately southwest of the Hollywood Hills, approximately northwest of downtown Los Angeles. B ...
, in a home next door to
Nancy Sinatra
Nancy Sandra Sinatra (born June 8, 1940) is an American singer and actress. She is the elder daughter of Frank Sinatra and Nancy Sinatra ( Barbato), and is best known for her 1966 signature hit "These Boots Are Made for Walkin'.
Nancy Sinatra ...
.
She alternated summers between California and the UK. She studied at two independent girls' schools in
Berkshire
Berkshire ( ; in the 17th century sometimes spelt phonetically as Barkeshire; abbreviated Berks.) is a historic county in South East England. One of the home counties, Berkshire was recognised by Queen Elizabeth II as the Royal County of Berk ...
—
Marist School and
Heathfield St Mary's School
Heathfield School is a girls' independent boarding and day school in Ascot, Berkshire, England. In 2006, the school absorbed St Mary's School, Wantage and was briefly named Heathfield St Mary's School but reverted to Heathfield School in 2009 to ...
—before attending
finishing school
A finishing school focuses on teaching young women social graces and upper-class cultural rites as a preparation for entry into society. The name reflects that it follows on from ordinary school and is intended to complete the education, wit ...
in Switzerland at the now-defunct
Institut Alpin Videmanette
The Institut Alpin Videmanette was a finishing school in the municipality of Rougemont, Switzerland. It was an all-girl school where the lessons were skiing, cooking, dressmaking and French.
In 1973, the school was headed by Monsieur and Mada ...
.
She acquired her current surname from her ex-husband,
Matthew Mellon, an American businessman and member of the prominent
Mellon family
The Mellon family is a wealthy and influential Americans, American family from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The family includes Andrew Mellon, one of the longest-serving U.S. Treasury Secretaries, along with prominent members in the judicial, bankin ...
.
Career
Mellon began her career at Phyllis Walters Public Relations, ''
Mirabella
''Mirabella'' was a women's magazine published from June 1989 to April 2000. It was created by and named for Grace Mirabella, a former ''Vogue'' editor in chief, in partnership with Rupert Murdoch.
It was originally published by News Corporati ...
'', and in 1991 was employed as an accessories editor and assistant to
Sarajane Hoare
Sarajane Hoare is a British fashion journalist, director, and stylist who, since the 1980s has worked for British ''Vogue'', '' Vanity Fair'', and '' Harper's Bazaar''. She has been instrumental in developing the career of photographer Herb Ritts, ...
at
British ''Vogue''.
Mellon approached bespoke shoe-maker
Mr Jimmy Choo with the idea of launching a ready-to-wear shoe firm. As co-founder of the
Jimmy Choo company, Mellon secured funding from her father for the creation of her business, and she sourced factories in Italy. In addition, she set up an office in Italy to handle production, quality control and shipping. By 2001, the company had over 100 retail clients, including
Harrods
Harrods Limited is a department store located on Brompton Road in Knightsbridge, London, England. It is currently owned by the state of Qatar via its sovereign wealth fund, the Qatar Investment Authority. The Harrods brand also applies to other ...
,
Harvey Nichols
Harvey Nichols is a British luxury department store chain founded in 1831, at its flagship store in Knightsbridge, London. It sells designer fashion collections for men and women, fashion accessories, beauty products, fine wines and luxury f ...
,
Saks Fifth Avenue
Saks Fifth Avenue (originally Saks & Company; Colloquialism, colloquially Saks) is an American Luxury goods, luxury department store chain headquartered in New York City and founded by Andrew Saks. The original store opened in the F Street and ...
and
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 ...
. The collections accounted for over 50% of the production of several of these factories.
The first Jimmy Choo store, on Motcombe Street in London, was followed by stores in New York, Las Vegas and Beverly Hills. In April 2001, the company partnered with Equinox Luxury Holdings Ltd. Acquiring Mr Choo's share of the ready-to-wear business, Equinox's Chief Executive, Robert Bensoussan, became
CEO
A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a central executive officer (CEO), chief administrator officer (CAO) or just chief executive (CE), is one of a number of corporate executives charged with the management of an organization especially ...
of Jimmy Choo Ltd, introducing handbag and small leather goods collections.
In November 2004, with the company valued at £101 million,
Hicks Muse
HM Capital Partners was a private equity firm in the United States that specialized in leveraged buyouts. The firm was previously known as Hicks, Muse, Tate & Furst. It was founded in 1989 by Tom Hicks and John Muse as Hicks, Muse & Co. and was ...
announced the majority acquisition of Jimmy Choo Ltd. Mellon made an estimated £85 million from the eventual sale of her share of the company in 2011.
In 2007, Mellon appeared on the
Sunday Times Rich List
The ''Sunday Times Rich List'' is a list of the 1,000 wealthiest people or families resident in the United Kingdom ranked by net wealth. The list is updated annually in April and published as a magazine supplement by British national Sunday news ...
, where she was ranked as the 751st richest person in the UK, with an estimated wealth of £99 million. She was also ranked as the 64th richest woman in Britain.
In 2013, she stated that her eponymous luxury shoe brand would not buy from companies that had no female executives.
Business difficulties
Mellon's shoe and apparel brand filed for bankruptcy protection under
Chapter 11
Chapter 11 of the United States Bankruptcy Code (Title 11 of the United States Code) permits reorganization under the bankruptcy laws of the United States. Such reorganization, known as Chapter 11 bankruptcy, is available to every business, wheth ...
of the bankruptcy code in December 2015. The filing stated that the company had assets of between $1 million and $10 million, and also had between 100 and 199 creditors who were owed between $1 million and $10 million. Pursuant to the bankruptcy reorganisation plan, the American private equity firm NEA made a $10 million cash injection into Mellon's business.
In January 2016, Mellon's former backers filed an objection to the restructuring plans under American bankruptcy protection laws, stating that the scheme would allow her, her fiancé, and a fund to gain control of the new company, leaving former financiers with no repayment. The objection contained accusations of mismanagement and abuse of the company, including a life coach on the payroll and an expenditure of $100,000 for tickets to The Met Gala in New York. The US Department of Justice also filed a formal objection. The judge hearing the matter denied all objections, and the recapitalization plan was consummated in early 2016.
In September 2016, it was revealed that Mellon was suing Jimmy Choo Ltd, alleging that the company had blocked her from using luxury shoemakers in
Florence, Italy
Florence ( ; it, Firenze ) is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.Bilancio demografico an ...
, to produce her own line.
Public and political activities
Mellon is a member of the
New Enterprise Council
The Conservative Party, officially the Conservative and Unionist Party and also known colloquially as the Tories, is one of the two main political parties in the United Kingdom, along with the Labour Party. It is the current governing party, ...
, a group of entrepreneurs that advises the
Conservative Party
The Conservative Party is a name used by many political parties around the world. These political parties are generally right-wing though their exact ideologies can range from center-right to far-right.
Political parties called The Conservative P ...
on policies related to business needs.
On 9 November 2010, she was named as a "global trade envoy for Britain" by the British government, intended to have a "roving brief" to promote the country's fashion industry overseas.
Mellon has served on the Board of Directors for
Revlon
Revlon, Inc. is an American multinational company dealing in cosmetics, skin care, fragrance, and personal care. The headquarters of Revlon was established in New York City on March 1, 1932, where it still remains. Revlon was founded by brothe ...
since 2008. She is also a patron of the
Elton John AIDS Foundation
The Elton John AIDS Foundation (EJAF) is a nonprofit organization, established by rock musician Sir Elton John in 1992 in the United States and 1993 in the United Kingdom to support innovative HIV prevention, education programs, direct care a ...
.
Honours and awards
In the
2010 Birthday Honours, Mellon was appointed as an
Officer of the Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations,
and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...
(OBE) for services to the fashion industry.
In 2014, Tamara Mellon received the
Women's Entrepreneurship Day
Women's Entrepreneurship Day (WED) is a day on which the work of women entrepreneurs is observed and discussed, held every day of each year. The inaugural event was held in New York City at the United Nations, with additional events being held si ...
Pioneer Award in recognition for her achievements in fashion.
Personal life
Mellon married Mathew Mellon in 2000. Together, the two had a daughter, Araminta. In 2005, the couple divorced.
Regarding her approach to her wardrobe, Mellon told Vogue magazine in 2004, "I never wear
lothingfrom past seasons", adding that, each season, she sends 98 per cent of her wardrobe to a favorite resale store. In January of that year, that amounted to 40 outfits, according to the article.
In 2007, Mellon began a romantic relationship with actor
Christian Slater
Christian Michael Leonard Slater (born August 18, 1969) is an American actor and producer. He made his film debut with a leading role in ''The Legend of Billie Jean'' (1985) and gained wider recognition for his breakthrough role as Jason "J.D." D ...
that ended two years later.
In 2013, Mellon published the autobiography 'In My Shoes' in which she details her rise to success and her partnership with shoe designer Jimmy Choo. In an interview about the book with Vanity Fair, she spoke of the challenges of designing shoes for the Oscar Season. Several media publications reported on the discussion in her book about her drug-addiction issues, specifically her problems with cocaine. Subsequent news coverage also focused on her stint in rehab, party lifestyle and being fired from Vogue Magazine. Mellon's battle with alcohol addiction is also well documented and she met her first husband, Matthew, at Alcoholics Anonymous. They later divorced and she wrote a number of articles about the dramatic details of her marriage, referencing "snorting her way through alpine ranges of cocaine".
In 2015, she announced her engagement to
Michael Ovitz
Michael Steven Ovitz (born December 14, 1946) is an American businessman, investor, and philanthropist. He was a talent agent who co-founded Creative Artists Agency (CAA) in 1975 and served as its chairman until 1995. Ovitz later served as preside ...
in a magazine interview with ''HELLO!''
It has since been revealed that Ovitz is still legally married to his first wife, Judy Reich.
In a 2016 ''
The Sunday Times
''The Sunday Times'' is a British newspaper whose circulation makes it the largest in Britain's quality press market category. It was founded in 1821 as ''The New Observer''. It is published by Times Newspapers Ltd, a subsidiary of News UK, whi ...
'' article, she referred to the situation as "complicated".
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Books
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References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mellon, Tamara
1967 births
Artists from London
British fashion designers
British magazine editors
English businesspeople in fashion
Fashion editors
Living people
Officers of the Order of the British Empire
People educated at Heathfield School, Ascot