Following World War ll, economic and social changes invigorated the Australian fashion industry, and made the latest styles accessible to a youthful and increasingly independent generation. Photography was the perfect medium to serve the expanding fashion market, where it was used primarily used to sell clothes.
Melbourne was at the heart of Australian fashion, and a natural home for the nascent field of fashion photography. It was also where masters of the medium, Athol Shmith (1914-90), Helmut Newton (1920-2004), Henry Talbot (1920-99) and Bruno Benini (1925-2001) established their careers and illustrated fashion and stylistic shifts occurring over successive decades, from the late 1940’s to the 1970’s.
The design of this stamp issue returns four remarkable photographers to their original commercial context by evoking magazine cover art. The use of bold typography, overprinting and distinctive typefaces are a clear nod to the design tradition of fashion magazines.
