Bobbi Queen, WWD’s Former Senior Fashion Editor, Known for Her Wit and Style, Dead at 84

Bobbi Queen, a former senior fashion editor at WWD who was known for her intelligence, wit and sense of style, died Thursday at her New York apartment at the age of 84.

According to her daughter Pilar Queen, her mother had been sitting by herself on her terrace at her Upper West Side apartment when she died, and the cause of death is not yet known.

Born Feb. 22, 1942, in Hollis, Queens, Queen grew up in Cranbury, N.J., and attended high school there and boarding school. She then enrolled at Boston University, where she stayed a year before transferring to the Tobé-Coburn School for Fashion Careers in New York. After graduating, she worked at Gimbels as a buyer before beginning her long and distinguished career in the early ’70s at Women’s Wear Daily.

Queen was known for her great eye and her ability to discern what was original and fashionable. She was also endlessly curious. She mentored young fashion editors and took them under her wing. She would visit Seventh Avenue showrooms, preview the collections, give designers her opinions about their lines, organize fashion shoots for WWD and W (for such markets as furs, intimate apparel and eveningwear), and write reviews.

Over the years, Queen developed close relationships with designers, including Perry Ellis, Willi Smith, Donna Karan, Vera Wang, Josie Natori, Badgley Mischka, Giorgio di’ Sant Angelo, Ralph Rucci, Oscar de la Renta, and Dennis Basso. She left WWD in 2015.

“Losing Bobbi is tough for many of us WWD alumni, especially so soon after losing Etta Froio,” said Ed Nardoza, former editor in chief of WWD, also speaking of Froio, WWD’s former executive editor who died last month. “The phrase ‘great ladies’ is making the rounds and I can’t think of a more appropriate description of the two. They were spirited, creative colleagues who became dear friends. Bobbi had a sharp mind and a lightning wit,  always ready to challenge anything at all she felt wrong or fuzzy-headed. She was a dancer, loved horseback riding, music, and theater. She was also an astute reader always ready to wrestle over who was the better writer, [Saul] Bellow or [Philip] Roth. 

“As for fashion, if you were talking shop, you’d better be on your toes.  Like most fashion editors, Bobbi was sophisticated and discerning and — like most fashion editors — often intractable with immovable points of view. Collections were either fabulous or catastrophic with not much middle ground,” said Nardoza.

“But unlike other fashion editors who looked to visual extremes to shock or make waves, Bobbi’s shoots always stayed true to whatever mood the clothes cast. Her styling was chic, often minimal, deceptively simple, always elegant and seductive to the eye. Visual pretense wasn’t her thing. 
And while she particularly loved a big-budget shoot, back in the flush days of hair and makeup artists, photographers’ assistants, gigantic vans, location scouting and meals for the crew, those days eventually gave way to screw-tight budgets. 

“Under the tightest circumstances, real creativity would surface and Bobbi always delivered, whether shooting on the roof of the old Fairchild building, a Midtown street corner or Rockaway Beach. Her Page One shoots were beautiful.

“Bobbi was a great colleague, a great editor and a wonderful friend. It’s hard to accept she’s gone,” said Nardoza.

Bridget Foley, former executive editor of WWD, worked closely with Queen, and developed a deep friendship. “Bobbi Queen — an original, one of a kind, both as a friend and as a force in the fashion industry for nearly a half-century. Bobbi was a brilliant editor with a great eye and a relentless sense of advocacy for the designers she believed in. Over the years, she championed so many, helping to forge the careers of some of the greatest figures in American fashion,” said Foley.

“Everyone who knew her knows that Bobbi was a unique mash-up of regal carriage, stalwart opinion, sharp wit and antithetical self-deprecation. We used to have this routine, when dissecting the relative merits of a dress. ‘Love it,’ one of us would start. And then, ‘Well, I’d love it if the sleeve were narrower.’ ‘Yes, and the neckline, straighter.’ ‘And the print, more subtle.’ ‘Yes, with a lean sleeve, straight neckline and quiet pattern, it would be fabulous.’ Bobbi would then cut off the conversation with, ‘if my grandmother had wheels, she’d be a streetcar.’

“Within WWD, Bobbi was a force. She led both by example, with her ever exacting standards and her make-no-mistake, often humorously delivered critiques of younger fashion editors’ work. Along the way, she mentored and forged deep friendships with generations of colleagues,” said Foley.

“Beyond work, Bobbi was a devoted matriarch, so proud of her beloved Pilar and Andrew, Max, Henry and Sydney. As a friend — her friends all know that Bobbi was singular — ever thoughtful, never obsequious, sometimes obstinate, always honest. And always the wittiest gal at the party, whether grand soiree or dinner at the diner. I can’t believe that two weeks ago, we had our last,” said Foley.

Queen influenced many designers’ careers, and was there for the start of many of them.

Donna Karan recalled Monday, “When I launched Donna Karan, Bobbi Queen was the first person to cover it.” She recalled the shoot that took place in Karan’s studio, where all the girls were in black wearing black berets.

“Bobbi was unique. I considered Bobbi more like a friend. She was very individual. It was personal and professional. I never felt like I was doing business when I was with her. There was only one Bobbi. She had that style like nobody else, with that short hair, thin, and a good body. She had power. She got very involved with the designers and what they were doing,” said Karan.

Vera Wang told WWD on Monday, “She was my editor at WWD and she also was a very dear friend. What I loved about Bobbi was that she was so outspoken. We got along from the beginning, as real staunch New Yorkers. She had a very distinct concept of talent and taste and she loved fashion. She lived and died for it. She covered my bridal as well as my ready-to-wear.”

Wang said that Queen really supported her. “If she believed in you, she really believed in you,” she said. “She had superb taste, a superb eye and was very intimidating at times, but a big heart,” said Wang. “Bobbi told it like it is, you better be prepared for it. She was really chic — the haircut, and the whole thing, a real fashion editor,” said Wang.

Josie Natori said Monday that she really got to know Queen through her coverage of the lingerie market over four decades. “She had such enthusiasm for beauty. She would ooh and aah. She just had a love of things of beauty.”

Natori also said that Queen was so defiant and would do what she wanted to do, whether that was ride horses or go on excavations. “She was a very interesting person and had a zest for life. She had such style. She loved our caftans and made them so glorious. She would appreciate the pureness of our 100 percent cotton underwear to the more decorated things. She loved fashion and had an appreciation for craftsmanship and beauty.” said Natori.

“What was great about her was she cared for everyone at WWD. It was a family to her. She had such a nurturing side to her,” said Natori.

Ralph Rucci said that Queen was assigned to be his editor around 1981. He said he was always afraid of judgment, “but she had a firm appreciation of fashion and a huge dedication to her work.” After each show, they would get on the phone and Rucci would ask if she liked it. “‘The clothes were great, but where are you going with that hair?’” he recalled her saying. “I always listened to Bobbi.” He said she was “courageous, she was precise and we shared a lot of secrets.” He said he made her a hand-painted chiffon dress to wear to her daughter’s wedding.

Dennis Basso said Monday that Queen had been his editor from the time he went into business in 1983, and they became friends over the years. He said she had no problem during a preview telling him what she thought of the collection. “She always gave me advice,” he said. “But she gave me more page ones that I can remember, including my first page one. I have them framed all over my office,” said Basso.

“Her personal style was very tailored, with a big dose of bohemian, and the Dennis Basso aesthetic is a little bit girly and not so bohemian, so it was an interesting combination,” said Basso. “Having her from WWD, the bible, on my side was amazing for me, and I’ll never forget her for that and her guidance.”

Yeohlee Teng said, “I loved Bobbi. She was extraordinary and one of a kind. She was unique and extremely fashionable and held her own ground. I’m very proud of her and honored to have known her.” Teng said she would come up to see the collections and was always critical. “It wouldn’t be Bobbi if she wasn’t critical,” she said.

“Oh my God, we are going to miss Bobbi. She was the real deal,” said Mark Badgley and James Mischka of the design duo, Badgley Mischka, in an email Sunday.

“We first entered Bobbi’s orbit when we were at our first jobs — James was working at WilliWear, and Mark was at Donna Karan — she terrified everybody, especially the design teams. The earth literally trembled when Bobbi came to see the collections. When we learned that she was covering Badgley Mischka, we had no idea what to expect,” they said.

“What we got was somebody who cared deeply — very deeply — about the people and the industry that she helped to shape. With us, it was like a lioness with her cubs — she was protective but not coddling, and pushed us farther into the world. She became a friend and confidante. Bobbi helped us realize we could do more than just make beautiful clothes.” In fact, Badgley Mischka designed Queen’s daughter’s wedding gown.

Rob Caldwell, former vice president of communications at Badgley Mischka (who is now director of public relations and production at Lilly Pulitzer), developed a close friendship with Queen and credits her with making his career. He said from the moment he got to New York City and began representing Badgley Mischka, Queen stuck by him professionally and personally for 26 years. He said Queen would preview the collection before every show, and she would always get a front row seat at the show. “She was the one we cared the most about,” said Caldwell.

Steven Stolman said, “Bobbi believed in me more than I ever did. I wouldn’t have had a career on Seventh Avenue without her. And I’ll never forget how the minute she would start to talk about Pilar, she would morph from powerhouse fashion editor into loving mom.

“She had this lanky worldly-wise elegance and suffered no fools gladly. That’s why I was always so blown away that she even thought to look my way,” said Stolman. “I was this short, chubby Jewish kid from West Hartford, Conn., making these very mannerist dresses in the style of Norman Norell when everyone else wanted to be the next Calvin Klein or Ralph Lauren. But Bobbi saw something in my vision and encouraged me to keep following my dreams.”

Diane von Furstenberg said Monday, “Her name is legendary. She was one of the very first people who ever wrote about me. It’s another person [passing away] from that era. She was one of the people together with Mr. [John] Fairchild who turned Women’s Wear from a trade paper into a worldly, international fashion publication.”

Ben Brantley, former chief theater critic for The New York Times, previously worked with Queen at WWD. Brantley was earlier WWD’s chief fashion critic, Paris bureau chief, and European editor for WWD from 1978 to 1985, and he and Queen became great friends.

“Bobbi always tended to take up the young men. She just sort of enjoyed playing with them. The thing about Bobbi was she was very worldly, but she was also very childlike,” said Brantley.

He recalled a classic story Queen liked to tell about the time she was mugged. “She would tell this story, probably with embellishments, but she had a Louis Vuitton bag she really cherished. Someone came and ripped it out of her arms on the Upper West Side and she screamed. The man had gotten away but the police came and said, ‘Can you describe him, what was he wearing?’ And she said he was wearing a herringbone twill pair of pants, I think a half-inch cuff, the pants were a little short, a broadcloth shirt, all the details. She did not get the bag back, but she impressed the policeman with her eye.”

He recalled the late ’70s when an editor, Lois Perschetz, who was very pregnant at the time, wanted he and Queen to go to a little place that was making special bags right across the street. They had a sale so they went up this rickety staircase on University Place, and they wound up in a room with a naked light bulb before going into another one, and Bobbi said, “Lois, where are you taking us, to an abortionist?”

“Her wit was incredible. She was so funny. I come from North Carolina; she was the essence of what I wanted New Yorkers to be. She was witty, she also was her own best satirist. She would make fun of herself as she was behaving in that particular way,” said Brantley.

Andrew Flynn, WWD’s former group art director, said, “What’s the expression? ‘They broke the mold when they made you.’ That was certainly our Bobbi Queen. I worked as an art director and was close friends with her for more years than I feel comfortable saying. And I cherish those years both professionally and personally.

“Bobbi had among many other qualities what’s known as panache, and she had it in abundance. She instinctively knew better than anyone how to pull a look together and brought those extraordinary talents to her work as a fashion editor and stylist. Doing it with ease, taste and always humor. Whether it was with Iman or Dalma at Jones Beach for a swimwear shoot or in front of the Brooklyn Bridge for a fur shoot or The Queen herself at the YSL Opium after party at Studio 54 with Giorgio di Sant’Angelo, she always put her own inspired stamp of style on everything,” said Flynn.

“Like ‘Star Trek,’ collaborating on projects with Bobbi could be akin to ‘exploring strange new worlds.’ The demands and deadlines of a daily paper can be brutal and trying to keep Bobbi focused, especially as she was correcting your manner of speech every other minute, could be challenging. But these times were alway fun and full of laughter. She certainly let me do my job, trusting my ability to present her unique view of what was happening in fashion to its best possible advantage. Which was of course amazingly easy given the caliber of excitement and excellence she brought to her work,” he said.

Queen served as a mentor to many young fashion editors in the newsroom, and not only entertained them with her witty and irreverent personality but taught them the ropes of the job.

David Yassky, who started as Queen’s intern and became a fashion market editor at WWD, said, “Bobbi was my mentor and she was the greatest mentor I’ve ever head. The generosity of spirit and time that Bobbi had was so remarkable.” He said that in a fashion setting, a lot of people could be competitive and wouldn’t want to enable and empower someone else. “Bobbi was just the total opposite of that. She has totally informed the way I’ve navigated my professional career,” said Yassky, who owns his own digital agency, Driver Digital.

Yassky said that Queen became a lifelong friend for 25 years “and we just had so much fun together.” He said she made him understand that “I could have fun at work.”

“Bobbi taught me everything I know about being a fashion editor,” said Kathleen Webber Nicholson, a former WWD fashion editor and a professor and program coordinator, journalism and professional writing at The College of New Jersey. “Fashion in the ’90s was a little intimidating and she made it less so for me. She was so generous in the way she mentored me. She introduced me to everyone in the market, taught me how to produce a great photo shoot, write pithy headlines, pick the best shots for a fashion spread.

“From the outside, Bobbi had a very commanding presence but she was so genuine and thoughtful — to me and other editors, to emerging designers and established ones, to models and photographers, the van drivers on the shoots, really everyone. She loved learning people’s stories. She was not one for small talk. Going to shows with her and market appointments I was in awe watching how she would hold court; designers loved being around her,” said Webber.  

Robert Passanto, a former WWD illustrator, said, “Bobbi was a true force of nature. She had a great sense of style, great sense of humor and was so exciting to work with. Our swimwear sections were special to me and remain some of my favorite work. She brightened our every day. She truly was WWD royalty.”

Agnes Cammock, former WWD senior market editor and a fashion creative brand consultant, said, “When I think about a dream colleague, Bobbi, aka Bo Queen’s picture should be in the dictionary. I was lucky enough to sit across from her for more than 10-plus years. She was elegant, smart, worldly and had an incredible fashion eye.  Many designers and fashion folk feared her but in reality, she was funny as hell, a softy and very well respected. Bo had an ability to figure out what’s happening in your life good or bad, immediately. She was incredibly intuitive; you couldn’t hide much from her.”

Patti Cohen, former executive vice president of global marketing and communication at Donna Karan International, said, “One of my first memories of Bobbi goes back more than 40 years, when after we previewed Donna’s first collection, we went to lunch at Macy’s Cellar, where she gave me my first lesson starting with, ‘Never, ever give anything to anyone before Women’s Wear.’ I remember being a little intimidated. Bobbi had a very determined, direct way about her — she always said exactly what she meant.

“What I’ll miss most are our conversations, most always at the ‘diner.’ Every time I’d send her a travel itinerary, she’d tell me what I couldn’t miss. ‘You have to go to Ethiopia. You must see Fez.’ Then, without missing a beat, we’d be discussing the newest skin treatment, her grandchildren whom she adored, the Broadway shows to see, a book I should read, a Dylan concert or the latest piece of gossip. She was always curious, very opinionated, mischievous, and a great friend. I will miss her,” said Cohen.

Jean Griffin, former vice president, group design director at Fairchild Publications, who is now a freelance creative director, worked with Queen on various sections at W. “She brought such energy and fun and life to whatever project we were working on — just a joy to everything. The models loved her. She connected so well with the models and photographers. Iman was always part of the team and Diane DeWitt,” said Griffin.

Stan Herman said that when he came out with a book in 2023, Queen was there at Rizzoli. “She was wonderful to me. After my presidency of the CFDA, she would come and sit with me in the front row [at fashion shows] and hold my hand. She was spectacularly special and quiet until that bubbly personality popped out. She was very well liked.”

Jeffrey Banks said that after Queen’s horrific horse riding accident, she insisted on making one of her first public outings (in tremendous pain and using a walker) to his book launch about Perry Ellis. He told her she didn’t need to come, but if she did to come early to avoid the crowd. She came smack in the middle of it. “It meant the world to me,” said Banks. He said that Queen was the first person he called when he decided to go into womenswear in 1984.

Lisa Queen, her sister who is president of a literary agency Queen Literary, recalled, “She made us all laugh so much. She said the most ridiculous things and she was so funny. Whenever she was around, we’d have some hysteria. If you ever needed to get into the weeds, she would go as deep as you needed to go. And then you would forget it, and she would still hold onto it five years later.

“She was so beautiful and chic and we would work out together on Saturdays. She would put on her makeup before she worked out,” added Lisa Queen.

In discussing her varied interests and style sense, Pilar Queen said her mother developed her own sense of style and wasn’t influenced by her own mother. “My grandmother [the only one to call Bobbi ‘Barbara’] was very elegant but very conservative, I think [my mother’s] creative, innovative edge was just something that came from within,” said Pilar Queen. She said her mother loved to travel — often by herself — and Egypt was her favorite place in the world. She was also an archeology buff. “She, as you know, loved horseback riding, which was part of the problem. She didn’t stop until a year before she died,’ said Pilar Queen.

A passionate horseback rider, Queen had two very serious horseback riding accidents that landed her in the hospital. She nearly died after a first horseback riding accident in Mexico, when her horse took off after Queen’s head hit a wire. She had to be carried on a board to Puerto Vallarta. “The doctors didn’t think she would walk again,” said her sister. “But she worked at it until she could walk with crutches.” She had more horseback riding accidents in the last year.

Another passion of hers was going to a Quaker sleepaway camp called Farm and Wilderness in Plymouth, Vermont, from the age of 7 up until last year when she attended it as a family camp.

A memorial service is being planned Aug. 27 in New York at a place to be determined. A couple of weeks later, Queen’s ashes will be scattered in Vermont. [She was to be cremated in a Ralph Rucci outfit, her daughter said.]

“She was so incredibly brave. Whether it was having an only child in the early ’80s by choice, or traveling to Egypt and India in the ’70s and ’80s by herself. She lived from a place of not being afraid and took chances and risks and she was creative, and so funny, and she gathered a family of friends which she just created into this large, extended family who supported her until she died,” said Pilar Queen.

Pilar Queen said that her mother lived in “a shoe box apartment,” which had a massive terrace, which is ultimately where she died. “But that was everything. She had to live on Riverside Drive, and she had to have a terrace.” Pilar said her mother had her first horseback riding accident when her twin boys [who are now 16] were only 2 years old. “They didn’t get to see the full force of her. But she loved being a grandmother, and we lived five blocks from her,” said Pilar Queen. She said her mother would visit her grandchildren as much as she could.

In addition to Pilar Queen, who is a partner, publishing, UTA, Bobbi Queen is survived by her son-in-law, Andrew Ross Sorkin, financial columnist for The New York Times, founder and editor-at-large at DealBook, and co-anchor of CNBC’s “Squawk Box” and an author, as well as three grandchildren, Henry, Max and Sydney Sorkin, a sister, brother and sister-in-law.