The Great Escape

One of my tearsheet books is full of travel stories ripped from fashion and décor magazines over many years. It’s a great inspiration and escape just to flick through the pages. Most of the locations are exotic: countries of the Middle-East, the Far East, and Africa – cultures as different as possible from the one I grew up in, in Australia (as much as it is a melting pot).

In particular, these black and white images by Patrick Demarchelier in a 90s photoshoot for British Vogue are wonderful. The location is Egypt, and the model is Tatjana Patitz. It is not so much the clothing that fascinates me but the evocative backdrops, redolent of mystery and exotic flavour. … Although I am not sure if it would be recommended for a lone woman traveller to sit down at a café table with two men in a Muslim country. There are obviously different rules for models. Still, it makes me dream.

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