Harvey’s death last week at the age of 74 has brought an outpouring of respect and grateful memories of her 40-year career at Condé Nast. She was the brisk embodiment of old-school English reserve, a deeply experienced behind-the-scenes champion of talent—frosty on the outside, kind on the inside – whose influence went global when she became Editorial Director of New Markets, overseeing new editions in China, India, Russia, and more. “Anna acted as a teacher and adviser to editors who were creating Vogue for the first time,” said Jonathan Newhouse, Condé Nast International Chairman and Chief Executive. By the time she retired, she’d help create more than half of the international editions. “With a mixture of patience and firmness, kindness and toughness, she instructed, demanded, imparted knowledge, and worked with inexperienced editors and art directors to bring out their best,” Newhouse continued.
The fondness and attachment she inspired, once she approved of someone, were expressed by Indian Vogue Editor in Chief Priya Tanna. “She was soon anointed ‘Mummyji’ for being the fiercest champion and cheerleader of the editorial team,” Tanna wrote last week. Harvey’s friendships with many former protégés continued on Instagram long after she retired.
The trouble is that much of the trail of Anna Harvey’s influence is undetectable. Her direction of brilliant fashion images – like sitting Christy Turlington, wearing a layer cake of a hat and a white lace Chanel suit at a busy Paris café, and having Arthur Elgort photograph her reportage-style in 1988 – was never credited on the pages of the magazine. It was the era when the anonymity of fashion editors still reigned.
Then there was her ultra-reserved character. From 1980, Harvey guarded her relationship with Princess Diana with the steely secrecy of an MI5 operative—her firm diplomatic demeanour meant that Diana’s designers knew that if they breathed a word to the press, jettisoning from the charmed service would be swift and irrevocable. Harvey spoke about some of their history only after Diana’s death. In a piece for British Vogue, she wrote about how she saw the once-clueless 19-year-old through, from being a Sloane Ranger to her Dynasty Di years to becoming an athletic superstar in Versace. In the beginning, Harvey wrote, “She really had nothing in her own wardrobe – a few Laura Ashley blouses and skirts, and some bobbly jumpers. That was it.” Harvey helped her into the early ’80s fairy-tale couture dresses—Bellville Sassoon, Bruce Oldfield, Victor Edelstein, Gina Fratini – that look so inspiring to new eyes today. Indeed, echoes rebound in Gucci, Marc Jacobs, and beyond.
Typically, Harvey deflected all the initiative onto Diana: “She wanted to wear British because she felt it was something positive she could do for the [British] fashion industry. She was a very English girl and the romantic style suited her. Everyone was thrilled to do things for her; there was such a feeling of euphoria that here was this young, glamorous girl who loved clothes.” Harvey also tactfully introduced her to Sam McKnight. "I was terrified of Anna at first because you knew she was stern, formidable," the hairstylist admits. "What she had as an editor was classic elegance, but it was never frumpy. I mean, the first time I met Diana, Anna had her sitting on the floor in a white Victor Edelstein ball gown, wearing a tiara, to be photographed. That had never been done before. I cut her hair after we’d finished that day."
Sarajane Hoare was a young British Vogue fashion editor at the time – as I remember, running around in biker shorts, Principal Boy jackets, and ballet shoes while senior editors stalked the halls in power-shouldered Chanel pencil skirt suits, opaque tights, and Manolo pumps. "Anna knew how to make couture look modern," said Hoare. "She had that incredibly chic posh English taste. I remember she could shoot a rubber dress and made it look classy." Equally, though, Hoare saw Harvey’s innate kindness. "I found her the warmest person in the office. She was sheer sanity, and her forte was encouraging young people. It made her just the perfect partner for Diana. I learned a lot about that impeccable style from her. I think that’s what she did for Diana. Taught her and also said, ‘Go on—you can do it!’"
Harvey’s quiet gift for personal relationships, her fashion eye, and the standards of professionalism and etiquette she lived by were the qualities that made her the ideal hands-on ambassador when Vogue went into international expansion. “I consider the role Anna played to be the most difficult editorial role in the organisation, more challenging than actually editing the magazine,” said Newhouse. “She was brilliant.”
Behind her intimidating exterior, Harvey was a mother figure and life coach to two generations of young women at Vogue in Britain, and then around the world. She showed by example – and often by direct advice how it was possible to have a family, a career one loved, and a private life to treasure. Harvey leaves her four children, her husband Jonathan Harvey, and her adored grandchildren, and a legacy that touched more people than she would probably have ever guessed.
The trouble is that much of the trail of Anna Harvey’s influence is undetectable. Her direction of brilliant fashion images – like sitting Christy Turlington, wearing a layer cake of a hat and a white lace Chanel suit at a busy Paris café, and having Arthur Elgort photograph her reportage-style in 1988 – was never credited on the pages of the magazine. It was the era when the anonymity of fashion editors still reigned.
Then there was her ultra-reserved character. From 1980, Harvey guarded her relationship with Princess Diana with the steely secrecy of an MI5 operative—her firm diplomatic demeanour meant that Diana’s designers knew that if they breathed a word to the press, jettisoning from the charmed service would be swift and irrevocable. Harvey spoke about some of their history only after Diana’s death. In a piece for British Vogue, she wrote about how she saw the once-clueless 19-year-old through, from being a Sloane Ranger to her Dynasty Di years to becoming an athletic superstar in Versace. In the beginning, Harvey wrote, “She really had nothing in her own wardrobe – a few Laura Ashley blouses and skirts, and some bobbly jumpers. That was it.” Harvey helped her into the early ’80s fairy-tale couture dresses—Bellville Sassoon, Bruce Oldfield, Victor Edelstein, Gina Fratini – that look so inspiring to new eyes today. Indeed, echoes rebound in Gucci, Marc Jacobs, and beyond.
Typically, Harvey deflected all the initiative onto Diana: “She wanted to wear British because she felt it was something positive she could do for the [British] fashion industry. She was a very English girl and the romantic style suited her. Everyone was thrilled to do things for her; there was such a feeling of euphoria that here was this young, glamorous girl who loved clothes.” Harvey also tactfully introduced her to Sam McKnight. "I was terrified of Anna at first because you knew she was stern, formidable," the hairstylist admits. "What she had as an editor was classic elegance, but it was never frumpy. I mean, the first time I met Diana, Anna had her sitting on the floor in a white Victor Edelstein ball gown, wearing a tiara, to be photographed. That had never been done before. I cut her hair after we’d finished that day."
Sarajane Hoare was a young British Vogue fashion editor at the time – as I remember, running around in biker shorts, Principal Boy jackets, and ballet shoes while senior editors stalked the halls in power-shouldered Chanel pencil skirt suits, opaque tights, and Manolo pumps. "Anna knew how to make couture look modern," said Hoare. "She had that incredibly chic posh English taste. I remember she could shoot a rubber dress and made it look classy." Equally, though, Hoare saw Harvey’s innate kindness. "I found her the warmest person in the office. She was sheer sanity, and her forte was encouraging young people. It made her just the perfect partner for Diana. I learned a lot about that impeccable style from her. I think that’s what she did for Diana. Taught her and also said, ‘Go on—you can do it!’"
Harvey’s quiet gift for personal relationships, her fashion eye, and the standards of professionalism and etiquette she lived by were the qualities that made her the ideal hands-on ambassador when Vogue went into international expansion. “I consider the role Anna played to be the most difficult editorial role in the organisation, more challenging than actually editing the magazine,” said Newhouse. “She was brilliant.”
Behind her intimidating exterior, Harvey was a mother figure and life coach to two generations of young women at Vogue in Britain, and then around the world. She showed by example – and often by direct advice how it was possible to have a family, a career one loved, and a private life to treasure. Harvey leaves her four children, her husband Jonathan Harvey, and her adored grandchildren, and a legacy that touched more people than she would probably have ever guessed.
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