Polly died Thursday December 12th, a few days before the two year anniversary of my Mom dying. It was odd timing though seems apropos considering how many incredible women seem to die around this time of year. bell hooks died December 15th, 2021 followed by Eve Babitz on December 17th and Joan Didion December December 23rd. All in the same year! Women like them are supposed to live forever and in many ways they do. I spent a year assisting Polly from 1998-1999, during her last year at Allure before she retired in September of 1999 and I began my job as fashion editor for Vogue Russia. Polly and I had countless adventures during that time and understood each other. It took her three months to make me cry in the bathroom, which I was told was a record for her assistants! Even though it wasn’t the easiest job I learned so much and am deeply grateful for having her in my life. She stood up for me when I was interviewing for the job of Fashion Editor at Vogue earlier that year and she was the first in the industry to champion my photography. Polly was a rebel and a punk in spirit even though she fit in with the socialites. The photos below are of Polly and me on various photo shoots, in Montana and Puerto Rico in 1999. I was tasked with being the BTS photographer on all our shoots so have hundreds of these pictures. The last image is Polly at her retirement party at Barney’s NY September 15th, 1999. It’s the only shot I got of her that night because it was the same day Mom came down from Baltimore to tell me my father had died in Moscow, while Polly and I were on a shoot in Los Angeles. I was drunk by the time I arrived at the party, thanks to some old Bard friends that had taken me out and dropped me off at Barney’s in my imperfect state, so I don’t remember much and didn’t take a lot of photos. Everyone was there to celebrate Polly though, that much I do remember. And her Gucci runway look that night!
Continue reading
