Mary McFadden (October 1, 1938 – September 13, 2024) was an American fashion designer of women's clothing and other high-fashion items, including historically inspired form-fitting dresses.
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Early life and education
McFadden was born on October 1, 1938, in Manhattan, New York, and spent the early part of her childhood on a cotton plantation outside Memphis, Tennessee. When she was nine, her father died in an avalanche while he was skiing in Aspen, Colorado. Afterwards, 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
Between 1962 and 1964, McFadden worked as public relations director at Christian Dior in New York and Paris. Since she knew nothing about publicity, she made an agreement that she would be paid in the form of 50 dresses per year from Dior-New York and Dior-Paris instead of money. She then married Philip Harari, a merchant for De Beers. She relocated to South Africa in the same year and Diana Vreeland arranged for her to become an editor for Vogue South Africa. She was in this position until 1966 when the magazine was closed. She then worked for The Rand Daily Mail as a travel and political columnist. She was also a freelance editor for Vogue Paris between 1968 and 1970.