Min Hogg

Georgina Hogg MBE (28 September 1938 – 25 June 2019[1]), 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 Elizabeth II.[2] She was the fashion editor of Harper's & Queen between 1974 and 1979, and then co-founded the World of Interiors in 1981, which became one of the most influential shelter magazines of the late 20th century. She died in June 2019.[3]

Early life

Georgina Hogg was born in London in 1939, and grew up in Regent's Park.[4][5] Her father was a personal physician to the Queen, with a surgery on Harley Street.[4][5] She was a boarder at Benenden School and then went on to the Central School of Art and Design to study graphic design with Terence Conran.[4] Hogg was one of the girlfriends of John Huston, with his daughter Anjelica recalling how Hogg lent her high-heeled shoes to help her practise her modelling walk.[6]

Career

Conran's wife, Caroline, who was already working at Queen, asked Hogg to come and join the magazine as a typist. This was her first job, introducing Hogg to journalism as a career.[4] Hogg briefly left to write for The Observer on interior decor and architecture, and was also a photographer's agent for a while, but in 1974, returned to the team of Queen (now rechristened Harpers & Queen) as a fashion editor.[4][5] Hogg eventually succeeded Jennifer Hocking as chief fashion editor, much to the frustration of Hocking's assistant, Anna Wintour, who had wanted the role.[4][7] However, Willie Landels, the editor of Harper & Queen, stated that he employed Hogg because she was intelligent and articulate, and unusually for a fashion editor at the time, was able to both speak well and write well. Hogg stayed on at Harper & Queen until 1979.[8] She then went on to become fashion editor for Sheba, an Arabic-language magazine aimed towards the wives of Middle Eastern oil barons.[9]

Hogg was founding editor of World of Interiors, and held the role for 20 years from 1981 to 2001.[5] The magazine, originally titled Interiors, proved so successful that within six months of its launch in November 1981,[10] Condé Nast made an offer to purchase it.[11] In June 1982, Condé Nast eventually purchased a half-interest, and the magazine was renamed World of Interiors to avoid conflict with another American magazine also called Interiors.[11] Whilst Condé Nast already owned a similarly conceived publication, House & Garden, the company felt that World of Interiors offered an exclusive up-market image to appeal to those seeking escapism and fantasy, whilst House & Garden was more accessible and that the titles would be complementary, rather than rivals.[11] By December 1983, World of Interiors had a circulation of 52,000 issues per month, with 7,000 per month in the United States and many notable subscribers, including Jacqueline Onassis, Paloma Picasso, and Bill Blass.[11] In 1983 alone, the advertising revenues had risen by 68 percent from 1982.[11]

Under Hogg's direction, the magazine promoted interiors that used historical textiles and artefacts to create a romantic and rarefied effect, although she stated that she was simply doing whatever pleased her.[5] In 1983 she described her approach as celebrating homes personalised by their residents, rather than interiors created by professional decorators, and stated that she wanted to promote eclecticism, vintage style, and individualism, and not modernism or minimalism.[11] In June 1999, the New Statesman commented that Hogg's 18 years in the post made her a typical example of the longevity of Condé Nast's editors.[12]

Later life

Until her death in 2019, at the age of 80, Hogg continued travelling in pursuit of inspiration, with homes in London and the Canary Islands. As of 2017, she worked as a wallpaper designer in collaboration with Nicholas Haslam.[4][5]

References
  1. "Min Hogg obituary". theguardian.com/. Retrieved 29 July 2019.
  2. Owens, Mitchell (26 June 2019). "Min Hogg, Glamorous World of Interiors Cofounder, Dies at 80". Architectural Digest. Retrieved 24 October 2019.
  3. Horwell, Veronica (1 July 2019). "Min Hogg obituary". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2 July 2019.
  4. Freedman, Lisa (28 May 2012). "Min Hogg". The London Magazine. Retrieved 15 August 2017.
  5. Haslam, Nicky (8 February 2017). "The Vibrant Life of a Legendary Design Editor". The New York Times. Retrieved 15 August 2017.
  6. Huston, Anjelica (2014). A Story Lately Told: Coming of Age in Ireland, London, and New York. Simon and Schuster. p. 96. ISBN 9781451656305.
  7. Horwell, Veronica (16 June 2011). "Jennifer Hocking obituary". The Guardian. Retrieved 14 August 2017.
  8. Oppenheimer, Jerry (2007). Front Row: Anna Wintour: The Cool Life and Hot Times of Vogue's Editor in Chief. St. Martin's Press. pp. 95–97. ISBN 9781429907637.
  9. Dougherty, Philip H. (26 April 1979). "Oil Chic Gets Its Own Magazine". The New York Times. Retrieved 15 August 2017.
  10. "The World of Interiors". Conde Nast. Retrieved 23 December 2015.
  11. Duka, John (1 December 1983). "A British Editor Sets Her Own Style". The New York Times. Retrieved 15 August 2017.
  12. Leapman, Michael (14 June 1999). "The NS Profile - Conde Nast". www.newstatesman.com. Retrieved 4 August 2017.
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