Paula Stafford
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Paula Stafford | |
|---|---|
 Stafford in 1949 | |
| Born | 10 June 1920 Melbourne, Australia |
| Died | 23 June 2022 (aged 102) Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia |
| Occupation(s) | Fashion designer, businesswoman |
| Known for | Introducing the bikini to Australia |
| Spouse |
Beverley Ralph Stafford
(m. 1943) |
| Children | 4 |
Paula Stafford OAM (10 June 1920 – 23 June 2022) was an Australian fashion designer credited with introducing the bikini to Australia.[1][2] Graeme Potter, director of Queensland Museum South Bank, called her "Australia's original bikini designer".[3][4]
Stafford was born in Melbourne in 1920.[1][2] After school she studied dress design at Emily McPherson School of Domestic Economy, a part of Melbourne Technical College. She lived in Gold Coast, Queensland.[5]
Fashion
The bikini is generally credited to Louis Réard in 1946, but two-piece swimming costumes had existed before then. Stafford had been making them for herself since the 1930s, but only gradually turned this into a business.[1][6] In the 1940s, wartime shortages led to a desire to save fabric, which led to costumes becoming more skimpy.[2] When somebody saw her self-made costume on the beach in Gold Coast and asked to buy one, she began selling them.[2] Her styles became popular in Gold Coast and in Melbourne. She began manufacturing operations with a machinist working in her attic, but later built a factory, and opened a shop, called the Tog Shop, and also sold mail-order. The firm also expanded into leisurewear for men and women.[5] She sold her clothes to stores including British retailers Selfridges and Liberty of London, and in Australia Myers, Georges, Buckleys, and David Jones. She also founded a modelling agency and a hotel.[2]
In a famous incident in 1952, model Ann Ferguson was asked to leave a beach in Surfers Paradise because her outfit was too revealing; she was wearing a Paula Stafford bikini.[5][7]
In 1993, Paula Stafford was awarded a Medal of the Order of Australia in the General Division for service to the fashion industry.[8]
Her work is on display at the Gold Coast Historical Society museum in Bundall, Queensland.[2] It was also displayed in an exhibition of swimwear at the Queensland Museum South Bank in 2010.[3] She was awarded Gold Coast City Council's "Legend Award" in 2012.[6][9]