Fashion Journal is back in print, here’s where to find it for free

Issue 195 hits streets today.

The first edition of Fashion Journal is buried somewhere deep among plastic-wrapped piles in our office. These stacks of magazines, turned sepia over time, are a visual reminder of the many stories shared over our 33-year history and the many people who have brought them to life.

Since its inception in 1991, Fashion Journal has seen many variations, iterations and departures. Some editions bear the title Fashion Quarterly, one personal favourite has foregone the traditional format of a cover model, opting instead to place a photo of a woman’s nipple on the front. These 194 issues are wildly different, but all share a common thread. All are free, and all highlight the brilliant talent that continues to emerge like a wellspring in our industry.

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

Today, we release the 195th edition of Fashion Journal, with thousands of copies distributed for free across Melbourne and Sydney. You’ll find it at places we hope you frequent and stumble upon, like the retail spaces of our incredible design talent, the salons and studios that pamper you and call on you to put yourself first, and the cafes and bars you visit with friends. 

This issue is far from our debut, but after an almost five-year hiatus, it certainly feels like one. It’s a statement of who we are now: the culmination of who we’ve grown to be since we launched in the early ’90s, but also since we halted print production during Covid and squared our focus to fashionjournal.com.au. 

It took many hands, and we acknowledge the Traditional Owners of Country across the many, many lands on which issue 195 was made. Their rich history of storytelling inspires our contributors and wider creative industry, and we pay our respects to Elders past and present.

We also acknowledge the many editors before who shaped Fashion Journal into what it is today, as well as the clever and creative team we work with now. Because of them, in our print pages, you’ll find a cover shoot that heroes pre-loved fashion, reflecting how a growing number of Australians are coming to dress. You’ll find a beauty editorial with no retouching of the model’s skin because Carol, a fan of Fashion Journal since before most of our team were born, is radiant without it. You’ll find the voices of many women who have found joy in moving up a dress size, and those who are continuing to question how they’re consuming fashion. You’ll find love letters to local designers, written by their peers, in a heartwarming chain of admiration. 

Thank you to all our contributors, Nina Fitzgerald, Maggie Zhou, Kyle Archie Knight, Bianca O’Neill, Nina Abrahams, Cait Emma Burke, Simone Esterhuizen, Maryel Sousa, Lekhena Porter, Zebe Haupt, Niamh Galea, Mia Kidis, Verity Mackey, Catherine Conlan, Kaylene Milner, Kirsty Barros, Millie Savage, Imogen Wilson, Honor Munro, Sarah Adamson, Tegan Whittaker, Mindwell Holcomb, Suleiman Thomas, Jasmine Knights, Ava Iacobucci, Elena Dudina, Hannah Baum, Jess Brohier, Juliana Schaller, Josep Velasquez, Joss Newton, Kristian Gunn, Jordan Hallewell, Molly Taylor, Mathew Templeton, Robyn Daly, Hannah Nikkelson, Jamie Kondilis and Erika Geraerts.

This issue is released as we step into Melbourne Fashion Week but its contents are intended to endure well beyond. Seek out this magazine, treasure it, share it with your friends. Put it on your coffee table at home. Come back to it in five, 10, 50 years to see a time capsule of Australian fashion in this moment. That’s what magazines are for.  

To browse past issues of Fashion Journal head here.