Hilary AlexanderOBE (5 February 1946 – 5 February 2023) was a New Zealand-born British journalist and past fashion director of the Daily Telegraph.[1][2] She was twice named Journalist of the Year (1997 and 2003) in the British Fashion Awards.[3] She was editor-at-large for HelloFashion Monthly and freelanced as a stylist and broadcaster.[4]
In June 2011, the British Fashion Council and the Daily Telegraph hosted a party to celebrate Alexander's career in fashion.[9] An amusing video titled Hilary Alexander Tribute[10] was specially commissioned for the event, complete with quotes from colleagues and friends including Sir Philip Green, Claudia Schiffer, Suzy Menkes, Stephen Jones (milliner) and Harold Tillman who affectionately described her as a "larger-than-life character" and "workaholic".
In April 2013, Alexander marked the death of former prime minister Margaret Thatcher with an analysis for the Daily Telegraph of her status as "a global style icon", explaining how her image was "beyond the dictates of any designer, let alone the catwalk".[13] It also detailed the origins of the verb to handbag[14] somebody, a reference to Thatcher's accessory as a symbol of her style of government.
TV work
Alexander had extensive experience in television that included three years on BBC 2’s Style Challenge, appearances on GMTV, Lorraine Kelly, BBC Breakfast and various documentaries for BBC One, BBC Two and Channel 4. She also appeared on national channels in Germany, France, Spain, Russia and China; Weakest Link and Strictly Come Dancing: It Takes Two (BBC); and was often interviewed for some fashion cable channels including Fashion File, Fashion TV and Video Fashion as well as for some radio stations. Alexander was the regular stylist and presenter for the Designer Catwalk shows at the annual Clotheshow Live in Birmingham. She was the featured stylist in the Living TV series Britain's Next Top Model[15] in 2005 and 2006 and also appeared in the 2016 series.
^Thumbs Up Productions Ltd. "Britain's Next Top Model". Britain's Next Top Model. Thumbs Up Productions Ltd. Archived from the original on 22 March 2016. Retrieved 19 March 2016.