Like sheep, they have all gone astray
Whatever happened to FOLLOW me magazine? I’m not talking about its most recent reincarnation in 2005 – a failed renaissance, and a short-lived one at that; I refer to the original magazine of the eighties. I was only a teen when I read it, and I didn’t have access to many international magazines (there was no Borders), but compared with what I could get my hands on then – Dolly, Cleo, Cosmo, Vogue – it was so much more original.
The editor of the relaunched title, Mark Vassallo said, "Back in the eighties we blew people’s minds with our forward-thinking and radical designs."1 This was so true. When the latest issue hit the newsstands, I was so excited I would snatch it up and immediately buy it without even bothering to flick through the pages first.
Even today’s so-called alternative Australian magazines have a ubiquitous look about them.
As for the mainstream fashion magazines (yes, I’m talking about you, Vogue, Harper’s Bazaar) why would I buy them when I’ve already read the articles printed therein on the pages of the international editions months ago?
Take a look at these spreads below, photographed by Martyn Thompson (now an internationally renowned lifestyle photographer) and styled by Jayson Brunsden (now a fashion designer). It’s not just their work that is admirable, but the art director and the copy writer have turned what could have been a pedestrian fashion editorial into something witty. They weren’t just interested in showing the clothes in every detail, but in the colours and shapes they make on the page.
This was a magazine that was designed – not just laid out – in the manner of Alexey Brodovitch and Carmel Snow of Harper’s Bazaar in the 1930s–1950s.
I’ve typed out the captions for your enjoyment…
LADIES WHO LUNCH
Taking a cue from the couture of the Fifties, fashion wraps up, Balenciaga-style. So slip on the gloves, a real hat, a flash of technicolour, and darling, do lunch!
(Left) Totally coutured with the perfect accessory, the mini Kelly bag by Hermès. Bright red overcoat from Mondi, over Wendy Heather rust-coloured pullover; the hair wrapped and parcelled in Hermès ribbons. (Right) Lunch on pearls and cashmere in classic black by Trent Nathan. Strands of pearls from The Vintage Clothing Shop.
(Left) The chic suit by Robert Burton. Hair wrapped up in Hermès silk scarf. (Right) Perfectly topped in huge saucer-brimmed hat by Annabel. Rust suit by Ian McMaugh, over cropped black sweater by Wendy Heather. Earrings by Hermès.
(Left) Two ladies to lunch. Woollen wrap from David Jones, over Carla Zampatti suit and, in the foreground, suit by Charles Jourdan, silk scarf by Jendi. (Right) Flashes of Fifties technicolour in Covers bright mustard-yellow wide-collared jacket, bodysuit and brown skirt.
(Left) So chic, the shoe by Charles Jourdan. Rust-coloured pullover by Wendy Heather, the polo-neck strung with a tumble of jet beads from The Vintage Clothing Shop. (Right) Curved and carved in a wasp-waisted suit by The House of Merivale.
FOLLOW me, Feb/Mar 1988, Photographs by Martyn Thompson. Cover FOLLOW me #35, July 1988. Photographer unknown.
1 You can read B&T magazine’s full article here if you wish.