Author Description

From 1900 to 1950, the Australian fashion industry was concentrated in a small area of central Melbourne - around the top end of Collins St. By the 1950s the so-called 'Paris end' of the street was synonymous with glamour, celebrity, fashion and high society - the most fashionable destination in Melbourne and a thriving precinct of creativity. It was home to Melbourne's most exclusive boutiques, surrounded by theatres and cinemas - a meeting place for those seeking entertainment and culture. It was here, or close by, that leading photographers like May and Mina Moore, Alice Mills, Ruth Hollick, Jack Cato, Spencer Shier, Edward Adamson, Athol Shmith, Helmut Newton, Henry Talbot and Bruno Benini set up studios and touted for celebrity clients. Their glamorous portraits often made these photographers as celebrated as their subjects. The Paris End: Photography, Fashion and Glamour focuses in particular on the role of the studio photographers and their relationship with couture, culture and the celebrated. Through stories and reminiscences of those connected to key players the book fills in some of the colourful details of the glamorous and celebrated characters who walked the Paris end of Collins St in its golden years.