Obituaries
Nonnie Moore, fashion editor, 87
By Albert Amateau
Nonnie Moore, an award-winning fashion editor, who retired in 1994 from GQ magazine after working previously at Mademoiselle and Harper’s Bazaar, died at St. Vincent’s Hospital on Thurs., Feb. 19, at age 87.
She died of complications of a choking accident, said her son Thomas. She lived in Tribeca for more than 11 years and in the West Village as a young woman, said her other son, Peter, a developer in the Downtown Manhattan area.
In an obituary last week in Women’s Wear Daily, designers Donna Karan, Ralph Lauren, Tommy Hilfiger and Calvin Klein, among others, recalled her energy, talent and generous support of younger magazine editors and associates in men’s and women’s fashion.
Nonnie Moore retired in 1994 after 10 years as fashion director of the men’s magazine GQ to focus on painting, the W.W.D. obituary said.
Born in New York City, she graduated from Barnard College and went to work in 1956 for Mademoiselle, where she eventually became fashion editor.
“I always used to joke with her that I thought she was the oldest living hippie,” Klein, who worked with Moore when she was with Mademoiselle, told W.W.D. “She was very artsy, creative, innovative and extremely kind and generous and supportive.”
In 1979, she became fashion editor of Harper’s Bazaar. She joined GQ in the mid-1980s, despite having no experience in men’s fashion.
“At that point, she was probably in her 60s, but she thought like a 25-year-old,” said Jim Moore, no relation, who worked under her and is the current fashion director at GQ. “Designers would get so excited to be in her presence because she was such a nurturer of talent,” he said.
“Nonnie was a brilliant fashion editor and always added something special to the stories she covered for GQ,” Si Newhouse, Jr., Conde Nast chairman, told W.W.D. In 1994, she received the Council of Fashion Designers of America Lifetime Achievement Award.
Her husband, Thomas L. Moore, an architect, died in 1990. In addition to her sons, two grandchildren also survive. A memorial service will be held at First Presbyterian Church, 12 W. 12th St. at Fifth Ave., at 1 p.m. Sat., March 7.
