Jessica Wooden, who has died aged 43, was laughter, color and love in fixed movement. A trend journalist who noticed her occupation as a door to a riot of magnificence for everybody, she explored garments as artwork, armour, enterprise and infrequently simply pure pleasure.
Born in north London, the one daughter of Hazel (nee Leslie), a literary journalist, and Antony Wooden, a number one translator from Russian, Jess grew up surrounded by phrases, and developed her personal nice reward, each in written and spoken type.
Sharply clever, she excelled effortlessly at Metropolis of London college for women, the place we grew to become associates, then studied English at Bristol College, graduating in 1999. Her first job at Glamour journal in 2002 introduced an look – wide-eyed however frank – on the T4 present G Ladies.
She moved to InStyle journal, then Marie Claire in 2009, the place she remained trend options director, and editor of the bi-annual trend collections journal Runway, till the print journal was retired in 2019. Jess additionally served on the British Trend Council’s press committee.
She negotiated her approach into the wardrobes of luminaries together with the Intercourse and the Metropolis stylist Patricia Field, in addition to the Chanel atelier and backstage milieu of infinite exhibits. Her interview topics ranged from Victoria Beckham to Karl Lagerfeld.
However she had little time for the trade’s extra judgmental, pretentious recesses, and wrote urgently concerning the human and environmental prices of trend lengthy earlier than sustainability was a buzzword.
Jess’s colour-drenched wardrobe (she by no means wore black), and outsized, outlandish jewelry had been distinctive even within the trend world. Something mundane was given an suave makeover, such because the pandemic-era pink puffer coat (a purchase order of such withering practicality she described it as a “private Rubicon”) she edged with layers of pink grosgrain ribbons.
After Marie Claire, she grew to become content material editor on the on-line designer trend website The Outnet, remained a contributing trend editor at Marie Claire on-line, and wrote for the Day by day Mail trend pages.
Marriage to Simon Vasco, in 2011, introduced Carmen and Leo, whom she cherished fiercely, fought onerous for and wove into each a part of her life. Jess and Simon had been separated, however remained shut associates and dedicated co-parents.
To be her good friend was to all the time really feel fortunate that such a drive for laughter and enjoyable had drawn you into her orbit. Her father captured her spirit in his translation of a Pushkin poem celebrating an “incandescent soul”.
She was additionally unstintingly beneficiant all through her life, no matter her private challenges, all the time discovering time, power and excellent presents to help these she cherished. Tragically, the final lockdown contributed to an acute psychological well being disaster and he or she took her personal life. She is survived by Carmen, Leo, Antony and Hazel.
