Nonnie Moore, Legendary Men's Editor, Dead at 87

Legendary editor Nonnie Moore, known for her energy and creativity in both women’s and men’s fashion, died early Thursday morning at St. Vincent’s Hospital in Manhattan. She was 87.

The cause of death was complications from a choking accident, said her son Thomas.

Moore retired in 1994 as the fashion director of GQ, where she had worked for a decade, after serving as fashion editor at Mademoiselle and Harper’s Bazaar. That year, she received a Council of Fashion Designers of America lifetime achievement award. GQ’s then-editor, the late Art Cooper, said upon her retirement, “I would have to say that she reinvented the way men’s fashion is covered. She has an infallible, unbelievable eye.”

“Nonnie was a brilliant fashion editor and always added something special to the stories she covered for GQ,” said Condé Nast chairman S.I. Newhouse Jr.

Designers reached Thursday also praised Moore. Donna Karan called her “a confidante” since the designer’s days at Anne Klein. “It was my first experience of working with fashion editors. She was so always up and very personable, passionate and somebody you wanted to hang with,” Karan said.

Ralph Lauren remembered Moore as “an incredibly talented and caring woman. She was very supportive of me and my business early on in my career.”

Added Tommy Hilfiger, “She was like a mother to a lot of us. She would speak very openly and honestly about not only my collection but she would show concern for us personally.”

Born in New York City, Moore graduated from Barnard College. She went to work at Mademoiselle in 1956, where she eventually became fashion editor under Edie Locke.

“She was never too tired to investigate anything she heard about, any inkling and gut reaction — she would follow through,” Locke said. “When we did the Paris collections together, we would limp home at the end of the day, but there was still something going on at night. I would fall into bed and Nonnie would change her clothes and go out. It was constant curiosity that always kept her going.”