Board of Governors

Nicole Mellon
Founder, Hanley Mellon

Born and raised in Greenwich, CT and Palm Beach, FL, Nicole Hanley Mellon developed a sophisticated, refined sense of style at a very young age.

While attending Trinity College, she interned with the legendary interior designer Mark Hampton and another summer for the designer Ralph Lauren. Determined to broaden her horizons, she moved to the UK to attend New College at Oxford University to further her studies in Philosophy. There she became fascinated with how occasion, architecture and landscape (your settings) affected personal style.

Upon graduation, Nicole returned to the US and began working for Tuleh, a feminine ready-to-wear women’s collection, and soon after for Intermix, a women's specialty, multi-brand fashion retailer. She then landed a job at Ralph Lauren as a stylist on the advertising team, helping to conceptualize and develop the Rugby line. Learning from and working with the extraordinary talent at Ralph Lauren awakened Nicole’s inner passion for design.

In 2004, Nicole launched her own women’s ready to wear line - Hanley - which featured unique, “stylable” designs created to fill the holes in her own wardrobe. In 2008, she opened its flagship store on the Upper East Side filled with her eponymous line as well as hand-selected accessories.

Today, Nicole still follows her passion for exceptional style and innovation. During 2013, Nicole launched HanleyMellon.com, a luxury fashion and lifestyle site featuring her unique perspective on a variety of topics including style, beauty, décor and art. With her site, she looks to define and uncover the intangible quality of style and to cultivate it.

Nicole currently resides in New York with her husband Matthew and their two children, Olympia Drexel Mellon and Force Hanley Mellon; and dog Tuleh. The couple is launching their own fashion label, HANLEY MELLON in the Fall, 2014.