Linda Fargo
Linda Fargo | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1957 Near Milwaukee, Wisconsin, U.S. |
| Occupation | Fashion executive |
| Years active | 1980s–present |
| Known for | Senior vice president of the fashion office and director of women's fashion and store presentation at Bergdorf Goodman |
Linda Fargo is a prominent American executive in the fashion industry. Since 2006, she has held the position of senior vice president of the fashion office as well as director of women's fashion and store presentation at the Bergdorf Goodman department store located in New York City.
Early life and education
Born in 1957, Fargo was raised near Milwaukee and completed her Bachelor of Fine Arts degree at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. Upon relocating to New York, she started her career as a window dresser at Macy's, eventually advancing to the role of visual director.
Career
In June 1996, Fargo became the display director at Bergdorf Goodman. She was one of eighteen window-display designers from Manhattan who participated in the Cooper Hewitt Museum's The Window Show in 1999. That same year, she served as vice president for visual presentations and held the title of director of visual merchandising. In 2001, together with Robert Burke, she designed the Whitney Museum of American Art’s annual gala, drawing inspiration from New York café society and the photography of Edward Steichen.
After the events of September 11, Fargo’s team adapted their holiday window designs to embody themes of values and virtues, creating distinct concepts for windows on Fifth Avenue, 57th Street, and 58th Street within the Bergdorf Goodman Building. One particular display on Fifth Avenue was recognized for its departure from conventional holiday colors, opting instead for a neutral, natural color scheme.
Fargo authored Dreams Through the Glass: Windows from Bergdorf Goodman, a collection showcasing her window displays published by Assouline Publishing. The book received acclaim from Harper's Bazaar, which praised it for transforming window dressing into a recognized art form.
In March 2017, Fargo introduced Linda’s shop on the fourth floor of Bergdorf Goodman. She works closely with David Hoey, senior director for visual presentation, together producing roughly 450 window displays each year.
In media
At a Cystic Fibrosis Foundation event held at Macy’s in 1985, Fargo wore "lace gloves and a black dress borrowed from Kim Stoddard," described by The New York Times as embodying a "very new wave" aesthetic.
In 2013, she appeared in the documentary Scatter My Ashes at Bergdorf's, named after a 1990 cartoon by Victoria Roberts published in The New Yorker. According to Variety, Fargo "effortlessly commands centerstage" while assessing collections from emerging designers for potential inclusion or rejection.