Belle

EDITORIAL Editor-in-chief Tanya Buchanan Creative director Shayne Burton Managing editor Matilda Ringrose Senior copy editor Janice Hogg Chief copy editor, Homes Peter Griffiths Art production Matus Kundrat Stylist, Homes Sophie Wilson Contributing editors Steve Cordony (Style director-at-large), Karen McCartney (Architecture), Kirstie Clements (Luxe Files) Judy Pascoe (Library), Carli Philips (Melbourne), Harry Roberts (Art), Jean Wright (Design) EDITORIAL OFFICE GPO Box 4088, Sydney, NSW 1028 Tel (02) 9282 8456, email: belle@aremedia.com.au CONTRIBUTORS Georgina Egan, Tom Ferguson, David Harrison, Benjamen Judd, Stephan Julliard, Timothy Kaye, Eugenie Kelly, Alana Landsberry, Rhiannon Lidbury, Chris Pearson, Anson Smart, Kristina Soljo, Rhiannon Taylor ADVERTISING Commercial manager, Homes Michelle O’Hanlon Brand executive Claire Ellis, (02) 9282 8038 Advertising production manager Kate Orsborn, (02) 9282 8364 NSW head of sales Blake Wright Head of direct sales, VIC, SA…

FIFTY YEARS AGO WHEN THE BELLE TEAM was putting together the July 1974 issue, taking it in a new direction from an enlightened women’s interest magazine to a publication with a focus on homes and interior design, all the images were shot on old-school film. The text had to be typewritten, then typeset, laid out, cut to fit, made into bromides, plated for press and printed. There was no email or fax, no mobile phone and certainly no worldwide web on which to search or check details. It was labour-intensive. Now here we are, half a century on, and we thought why not harness some incredible tech to assemble this issue? AI tech has given us the tools to experiment with the creation of an ideal Belle cover drawn from…

In 1974, Prime Minister Gough Whitlam’s progressive politics were shaping Australia’s cultural landscape and the sounds of Helen Reddy’s hit, Keep On Singing, poured into living rooms via the radio mere months before Countdown would revolutionise the television industry. Amid these life-changing events Belle magazine emerged to chronicle and inspire the era’s bold interior design revolution. The mid-70s were a heady mix of flamboyant decor and political upheaval, and the heart of the home was not just the kitchen but the ever-iconic bar. Helmed by former Olympic swimmer Ilsa Konrads as editor and supported by the legendary Babette Hayes (OAM) as interior design consultant, Belle burst onto the scene when Australians were beginning to take stock of their place in the world at large, starting with their homes. “It was…

The arrival of the 1980s marked a distinctive visual shift when it came to interior design that reflected the “more is more” culture of the time. Big hair met with bigger shoulder pads as ‘Opium’ and ‘Kouros’ fragrances by Yves Saint Laurent fought for olfactive supremacy in CBD offices. Loraine Brown stepped up to the plate as Belle editor and Hayes’ unflappable eye had been joined by the inimitable talent of Jean Wright as interior design editor. “The 80s was such an amazing time to be working on Belle,” says Wright, “with its outstanding covers and stories. We went from working on Belle from a little cottage in Woollahra to being taken over by ACP. My favourite was the high-tech issue [Jan/Feb 1980] looking at how home technology would change…

Can you even say you lived in the 1990s if you didn’t have a black leather ‘LC4’ chaise in your abode? Originally designed in 1929, the stranglehold this had, mostly on men, in the decade of minimalism and grunge cannot be underplayed. In one issue alone, its unmistakable lines, all in the same leather and chrome finish, appeared three times in three different homes. The 90s marked a transformative period in interior design with a departure from the hairsprayed ostentatiousness of the 80s in favour of a new era defined by a mix of minimalism, grunge and a burgeoning tech-inspired aesthetic. An icon of the industry, Space Furniture opened its doors offering a new vista of design potential to the Australian market. Michaela Dunworth was now Belle editor, still working…

If the Le Corbusier chaise was the chair of the 90s, the Kartell ‘Ghost’ chair by Philippe Starck was the It seat of the 00s. Launched in 2002, its translucent silhouette could be found everywhere from barbeques on balconies in Brisbane to plush dining rooms in Paddington, probably alongside a variation of a Bali-esque Buddha statue. The 00s were nothing if not diverse. The 2000s saw our approach to interior design in Australia shift into a harmonious blend of 90s’ minimalism, international inspiration and investment in technology. With the dawn of a new millennium homes across the country shed their cluttered pasts, embracing sleek lines and open spaces that whispered modernity and sophistication. The first issue of this decade, dedicated to colour, hinted at the power of green and its…