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.
