Jennifer Hocking (1929–2011) was an Australian-born British-based fashion model in the 1950s and early 1960s, who then became fashion editor of '' Harper's Bazaar'' and ''

Queen Queen or QUEEN may refer to: Monarchy * Queen regnant, a female monarch of a Kingdom ** List of queens regnant * Queen consort, the wife of a reigning king * Queen dowager, the widow of a king * Queen mother, a queen dowager who is the mother ...

''. Whilst there, she gave

Anna Wintour Dame Anna Wintour (; born 3 November 1949) is a British journalist based in New York City who has served as editor-in-Chief of ''Vogue'' since 1988 and Global Chief Content Officer for Condé Nast since 2020; she is also the artistic directo ...

her first magazine job. Hocking then pursued fashion design, before rediscovering success as a mature model in the 1990s, when she was described as a "grande dame" after her appearance in

Mario Testino Mario Eduardo Testino Silva OBE HonFRPS (born 30 October 1954) is a Peruvian fashion and portrait photographer. His work has featured internationally in magazines such as ''Vogue, V Magazine,'' ''Vanity Fair'' and '' GQ.'' He has also crea ...

's shoots for

Burberry Burberry is a British luxury fashion house established in 1856 by Thomas Burberry headquartered in London, England. It currently designs and distributes ready to wear, including trench coats (for which it is most famous), leather accessorie ...

Early life

Hocking was born in Sydney, where she went to art school. In 1952 she borrowed the fare from her brother and sailed to the United Kingdom to pursue a career as a fashion model. Whilst there, she married a male model and actor called Nigel Howland. The marriage eventually ended in divorce.

Career

Modelling, part 1

Hocking began her career as a model by doing fashion shows, but eventually became a leading photographic model, basing her style on that of a leading American model, Anne St. Marie. In 1956 Hocking was named London Model of the Year by ''

The Daily Express The ''Daily Express'' is a national daily United Kingdom middle-market newspaper printed in tabloid format. Published in London, it is the flagship of Express Newspapers, owned by publisher Reach plc. It was first published as a broadsheet ...

''. Although she could present as aloof and sophisticated, she also had an approachable quality, which enabled her modelling career to be most successful during the transitional period between the 1950s and the mid-1960s, as she resembled a young career woman rather than one of the haughty ladies favoured for 1950s fashion photography. Along with Paulene Stone, she became a favoured model of Terence Donovan and David Montgomery. Brian Duffy photographed her with the author Frank Norman. However, Hocking became aware that her maturity was working against her, as teenage models began to be more popular, and she ceased modelling.

Journalism

Hocking's first job after quitting modelling was as a stylist for ''Fashion'', before being transferred to '' Harper's Bazaar'' and succeeding

Molly Parkin Molly Parkin (born Molly Noyle Thomas, 3 February 1932) is a Welsh painter, novelist and journalist, who became most well-known for her work on ''Nova'' magazine, newspapers and television in the 1960s. Early life Parkin was born on 3 February ...

as fashion editor. She stayed on in 1970 when Harper's Bazaar merged with ''

'' to become ''Harper's & Queen''. Whilst at Harper's & Queen, Hocking was challenged by the small budgets and tiny fashion department, but hired a young 21-year old

as her editorial assistant as she was impressed by Wintour's precocious professionalism. In 1974, Hocking was asked by the Fashion Museum, Bath to choose that year's defining looks for their

Dress of the Year The Dress of the Year is an annual fashion award run by the Fashion Museum, Bath from 1963. Each year since 1963, the Museum has asked a fashion journalist to select a dress or outfit that best represents the most important new ideas in contempor ...

collection, for which she selected male and female knitted ensembles by Missoni. A couple of years later, Hocking helped style

Joanna Lumley Dame Joanna Lamond Lumley (born 1 May 1946) is an English actress, presenter, former model, author, television producer, and activist. She has won two BAFTA TV Awards for her role as Patsy Stone in the BBC sitcom ''Absolutely Fabulous'' (1992 ...

for some episodes of '' The New Avengers''. Following the decision of Harpers & Queen to try and challenge British ''Vogue'''s place at the top of the British fashion magazine hierarchy, Hocking decided to leave, and was succeeded by

Min Hogg Georgina Hogg (28 September 1938 – 25 June 2019), known as Min Hogg, was a British journalist, magazine editor, and interior designer. She was the daughter of Sir James Cecil Hogg K.C.V.O., an ear specialist whose patients included Queen Elizab ...

despite Wintour trying for the job.

Fashion design

After leaving ''Harper's & Queen'', Hocking became a fashion designer for Christopher Carr Jones's mail-order company, and then started up her own equivalent business.

Modelling, part 2

In the 1990s, Hocking resumed modelling as a professional mature model, and came to the attention of

, who had been seeking out other models that had retired in the mid-1960s in order to develop the narrative of his photographs for

. Along with

Tania Mallet Tania Mallet (19 May 1941 – 30 March 2019)''England & Wales, Civil Registration Birth Index, 1916–2007'' was an English actress and model, best known for playing Tilly Masterson in the James Bond film '' Goldfinger'' (1964). Early life an ...

, Hocking became one of Testino's favourite models as a representation of the "early-60s Englishness" that enhanced the Burberry brand. In 2002, ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

'' described Hocking and Mallet as "grande dames" who looked as good in Burberry fashion as their co-star, the young and glamorous

Elizabeth Jagger Elizabeth Scarlett "Lizzy" Jagger (born March 2, 1984) is a British-American activist, model and actress. Jagger has devoted significant time to studying equal rights. A long-time feminist, Jagger is an activist for the Equal Rights Amendment. ...

Later life and death

Hocking died in 2011 of cancer at the age of 81. She was survived by her daughter Wendy, also a model, and her son Julian.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hocking, Jennifer 1929 births 2011 deaths Australian female models Models from Sydney British female models British women journalists Australian women journalists Australian fashion journalists Fashion stylists Australian fashion designers Australian women fashion designers British women fashion designers British fashion designers Deaths from cancer in the United Kingdom Australian expatriates in the United Kingdom British magazine editors Australian magazine editors Australian women editors British women editors Women magazine editors