Allen was born on September 17, 1941, in Cheshire, England, to a Norwegian mother and an English father. She was a pupil at Adcote School, an independent girls' boarding school in Shropshire between 1951 and 1959. She then graduated from the University of Grenoble in France.[1]
Fashion career
Allen's career in fashion began in 1961 when she took a job as a trainee at Queen Magazine.[1] She quickly became editor and writer for the 'About 20' young fashion section of the magazine, which she used to showcase young design talent and innovative photography.[2] In 1964, when the editor of Queen, Beatrix Miller, went to edit British Vogue, she took Allen with her. For Vogue, Allen founded the 'Young Idea' pages which continued to champion up-and-coming innovative young designers such as John Bates and Foale and Tuffin.[3] Allen's layouts were also original, including a spread based on the Batman comic strip in June 1966.[4] She occasionally modeled for her own articles, and wore the designs she featured.[3][4] For her 1966 wedding to the film producer Sandy Lieberson, Allen wore an ultra-modern mini-dress and coat trimmed with silver vinyl designed by John Bates.[5] Allen remained at Vogue until 1973.[1] She also helped to establish the bachelor's degree program in journalism at Central St. Martin's Art College in 1973.[1]
Film career
Allen was persuaded to enter the costume-designing business for film by director Nicolas Roeg after her successful career in fashion journalism.[1] Following her entry into costume design, Allen worked on the costumes for a number of Roeg's movies,including Don't Look Now, The Witches and Eureka.[1]
Allen also developed a working relationship with Taiwanese film director, Ang Lee. The two collaborated to create the costumes for a number of Ang's major films, including Hulk, Brokeback Mountain and Ride with the Devil.[1]
