A peek into Fashion Journal’s archives, from 1992 to 2026

Celebrating 200 issues.

In the editor’s letter of our latest print issue, Lara Daly wrote: “Fashion Journal has been around since before many of you were born.” Digging into FJ’s archives alongside Lara was revealing. Arms deep in layers of dust, we laid out every issue we dug up and FJ’s long and storied past surprised even us.

By the time I was born in 1998, FJ was already six years old. It had evolved from Fashion Quarterly, cycled through several logo iterations and scandalised the streets of Melbourne and Sydney with an R18+ ‘Sex Issue’. Its evolution into the new millennium was signposted by the best of early naughties fashion and its foray into the 2010s was defined by Tumblr-inspired pastels.

For more shoots, articles and features, head to our Fashion section.

Although both Lara and I were lucky enough to join the team at Fashion Journal right in time for its print relaunch in 2024, looking through the archives was both a recalibration and a reaffirmation. In a world defined by digital media, rapidly evolving trends and hot takes (and a rotating door of media outlets), FJ has remained.

Of course, it’s evolved significantly through its 200 issues. But a lot has stayed the same as well – a commitment to independent designers, to championing the local fashion industry and to telling stories you won’t find anywhere else.

However, it didn’t feel fair to keep all that history to ourselves. In celebration of 200 issues, we scanned in some of the most iconic covers over the years. Find a glimpse at what we uncovered below.

1992: In the beginning

Released in March 1992 as Fashion Quarterly, Issue 1 featured a pinstriped Bettina Liano suit on its tri-tone black and red cover. What began as a quarterly insert in Beat Magazine evolved to Fashion Journal in 1993, and by 1997, it was a fatter, brighter, bi-monthly magazine distributed independently across both Melbourne and Sydney. The ’90s were a risque time for FJ, with a ‘Sex Issue’ and a naked breast on the cover of Issue 24.

Editor Penny Dickson leaves her mark with ‘The Sex Issue’, featuring a close-up of Poppy King’s lips on the cover – a local beauty icon who founded Lipstick Queen.

Issue 24 saw the release of the infamous nipple cover, under editor Nick Meimaris, and FJ became bi-monthly.

1998 makes a splash with its super stylish new logo.

Fashion Journal enters the 21st century

Entering the 2000s, FJ experimented with modern new logos and was now printed on gloss and newsprint. Distribution expanded beyond Melbourne and Sydney to Adelaide, Canberra, Brisbane and Perth. The editors moved on from press shots and brand imagery for covers and began producing original shoots. Streetwear brands like Mooks, Wish and Teenage Millionaire dominated the fashion pages, and emerging models Jess Hart and Lili Sumner appeared on covers.

In 2009, Leah White began a decade-long reign as Editor.

2010s: A modern transformation

The 2010s saw FJ refine its design with a new white border and stacked logo on its paper cover. In 2014, FJ launched its website and social media handles started to appear everywhere in the mag. A young Samantha Harris graced the cover of Issue 145. After a four-year print hiatus due to the pandemic, FJ relaunched with a new look in the spring of 2024. Still free, still printed locally, and distributed across Melbourne and Sydney.

2024: The print relaunch

In 2024, FJ’s print magazine debuted a new look, with Giulia Brugliera at the helm as Managing Editor and Kelly Lim stepping in as designer.

June 2026 saw the publication of Issue 200 with Lara Daly as Editor, a milestone achievement marking 200 issues of Fashion Journal.

Thousands of copies of Fashion Journal are distributed for free across Melbourne and Sydney. You’ll find it at retail spaces, salons, studios, cinemas, cafes and bars. Keep an eye on our Instagram to see the closest stockist near you.

To browse past issues of Fashion Journal, head here.