Read the mag: Issue 196

Flip through the issue, in its entirety, for free.

When I was 12, like many tweens coming of age in the early 2000s, I made my own magazine. Titled Lift, it featured photos of my younger sisters styled, made-up and photographed by me. I edited the images in Microsoft Paint, and placed them alongside snappy titles and teasers, ready for the glossy pages I was sure they would occupy.

Though Lift never quite made it to print, it cemented a passion for publishing that has stayed with me for life. I’m pleased to say my editorial skills have improved markedly since then, as has my understanding of an editor’s role. When adolescent me first ventured into publishing, I thought I was the most capable person to wear the many hats required to make a magazine. Now steering Fashion Journal, I recognise the talents of our contributors far exceed my own. It’s an obvious realisation, but an important one.

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

As a result, this issue (and the entire Fashion Journal ecosystem, really) is one big collaborative effort; the whole is much greater than the sum of its parts. With different talents come differing opinions, and there have been many negotiations while bringing this edition to life. At one point or another, everyone has compromised. But this edition is anything but a compromise, brimming with ideas from some of the country’s brightest creative minds.

Within these pages, we celebrate a new generation of designers, highlighting the work of Australia’s top fashion graduates as it surfaces on the National Graduate Showcase x Emporium Melbourne runway at PayPal Melbourne Fashion Festival. We welcome a team of entirely trans and gender-diverse creatives who have taken charge of their own image in a reimagined editorial. We showcase our favourite designers’ favourite designers, and give free rein to the makeup artists whose work we’ve been admiring from afar. I could keep going, but suggest you start to flip through instead, as that’s where all the magic is.

This edition was made across cities and I acknowledge the Traditional Owners of these lands whose care for Country inspires us to do the same, starting with our care for clothing. As for this issue, I hope you find inspiration in these pages, just like I did in the magazines I flicked through in my tweens.

To browse past issues of Fashion Journal head here.