Canberra Propaganda
How I laughed when Rupert Bear sent this email around the department. He said he found it difficult to distinguish the men from the women – and it’s so true!
Quite apart from the period fashion, it’s fascinating to see such an example of the fashion in graphic design as used by political propaganda. There is an air of innocence more suited to the 1950s than the 70s, not to mention a whiff of the Aryan.
On a lighter note, I love high-waisted denim overalls worn by the girls on the sailing boat, the Twiggy look on one girl in the field, and the strawberry-sorbet-dipped white trouser suit on the other. Not to mention the stripper shoes on the girl in the shopping mall! (Note the bubble telephone booths.)
The images make one think Canberra must be one great, jolly school camp, with everyone joyfully romping round together when their hard day’s work is done. I’d love to know which agency was responsible for this publication – it must have been as much a pain dealing with a government department as a lot of fun shooting such idealistic images. I wonder how many cosmopolitans from Melbourne or Sydney fell for it?
