"Mary McFadden High Priestess Of High Fashion" (SIGNED) 2004 MCFADDEN, Mary and SALIKLIS, Ruta
$350
MCFADDEN, Mary (SIGNED on half-title page)
SALIKLIS, Ruta
[84] pp.
Bunker Hill Publishing
2004
10 7/8" x 11 3/4"
Fine/ Fine
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Elegant autobiography featuring Mary McFadden's life in haute couture, decor, and design (signed x'05)
Mary McFadden (1938-2024) was an American art collector, editor, fashion designer, and writer.
Early life and education
McFadden was born in New York City, and spent her childhood on a cotton plantation outside Memphis, Tennessee. When her father died, the family moved to Westbury, New York, and she was sent to the Foxcroft School from which she graduated. She went on to attend Columbia University, the Ecole Lubec, the New School for Social Research, the Sorbonne, and the Traphagen School of Fashion (1956, Costume Design).
Career
She has lived on Park Avenue in Manhattan.
She was working as the director of public relations for Dior New York in the 1960s, when she married a merchant for De Beers diamonds (Philip Harari, who she later divorced; see Personal life section below) and relocated to South Africa. From 1968 to 1970 she was an editor for South African Vogue, a job arranged for her by Diana Vreeland.
In 1976 she began the clothing company Mary McFadden Inc.
From 1982 to 1983 she was the President of the Council of Fashion Designers of America.
In 2012 she and her companion Murray Gell-Mann published the book Mary McFadden: A Lifetime of Design, Collecting, and Adventure.
She has also licensed her name to many products such as eyewear, footwear, home furnishings, and sleepwear.