I consider myself lucky that I caught the end of the pre-internet era. Growing up in the nineties, my early experience of the fashion industry was through magazines (sometimes arriving in Australia three or so months after the fact) and by going into the stores of the brands I was interested in. When I used to buy a magazine, or when I got to take one of my parents’ magazines, I would read through it start to finish, page by page; and the most exciting issues were those heralding the start of a new season - the launch of the latest seasonal campaigns.

This early experience instilled in me the power of an ad. It has also left me with a feeling of nostalgia for those days, when you had to seek out something you were interested in, rather than having an algorithm send it to you all the time. That was why, when I was thinking about our pre-launch campaign, I wanted to reference some great printed fashion advertising from a bygone era.

It might sound cheesy, but I’ve always looked up to my Dad (Warwick) as the most talented illustrator and art director I know. Dad was always painting and drawing when I was growing up, and when I started my design degree, he taught me how to draw. So it made sense for me to ask him to help illustrate our pre-launch campaign, knowing he would innately understand my references and what I liked, and that he’d be able to illustrate whatever was required.

Dad’s name is Warwick Wood (aka Woz), and he grew up in Croydon Park in the western suburbs of Sydney, in the 1950s. His father Harry was a Carpenter and didn’t really get it when Dad said he wanted to be an artist, so together they went through what was then called the “Pink Pages” (now the Yellow Pages), and Harry took him around every commercial art studio in Sydney to ask that they give him a job. That led to his first role, as a commercial retoucher (for $5 a week!), then to a job as an illustrator for print advertising - illustrating everything from sandals for David Jones, car tyres, refrigerators and newspaper and magazine ads.

Later in the 70s and throughout 80s, Dad started working as an Art Director, in particular for Mojo - the agency responsiblefor much of the Australian advertising that remains famous and iconic today. He then started his own design and branding studio, whilst continuing always to paint and draw at home - which is mainly what I was exposed to in his career, and is what serves as inspiration to me to this day.

Jackson and Villani Studio in Sydney, 1968. Dad got his first job here (as a retoucher) after my Grandfather took him there and demanded the studio owners give him a chance.

So, thanks to my Dad, for endlessly letting me tap into his illustrative genius, for teaching me to always look at things (really look at them), and for sharing his handwriting and curiosity with me. A selection of his work throughout the years, below.

Clockwise: An icon of 80s Australian advertising, the “Everybody Loves Speedo” campaign by Mojo. “Pelican” Acrylic, Pastel and Gouache on artboard. “Sea Friends” assets for Wavier.

Left to Right: Pen and Ink of my mum - Tracy, in 1979; Hopalong Cassidy (pen) - drawn in 2018; brush and ink of a Random Smoker - 1997.