Brisbane Arcade

The Brisbane Arcade is Brisbane’s oldest and grandest shopping arcade and the headquarters of Queensland’s couture fashion since it opened in 1924.

The Brisbane Arcade includes these shops:

• BethWyn Couture Fabrics – specialists in the finest European fabrics
• Darb Couture: arguably Australia’s maestro of bridal couture
• Keri Craig Emporium: European fashion labels stockists of Elisa Cavaletti, Tuzzi, Simons Vignoli, Clips, Isabel De Pedro, Amtica Santoria and Lorena Benetton
• Indepal Leather: think leather duffle bags, backpacks,
• Issada Cosmetics: an iconic Australian make-up brand offers a one-hour make-over and make-up lessons.
• Pia du Pradal: impeccably tailored jackets, skirts and pants
• The Tea Centre
• Tengdahl: designer fashion
• Wendy Louise Designs / Belle Folie Millinery: fascinators, jewellery items and hair accessories

Brisbane Arcade has been home to Queensland’s ‘royalty’ of fashion and jewellery designers since opening in 1924.  The iconic Arcade today is also where some of the city’s best high tea and café dining venues can be found along with unique gift emporiums, stockists of exclusive international and local fashion and accessories labels along with beauty outlets and more.

Brisbane Arcade History

• Brisbane Arcade is Brisbane’s oldest and grandest shopping arcade
• Brisbane Arcade is believed to have been under construction in 1923 with the first store openings in 1924
• Long before Brisbane’s Queen Street Mall was dotted with concept stores, multi-level shopping centres, superstores and the like, the city’s consummate consumers have flocked to Brisbane Arcade to enjoy couture fashion, jewellery, tailors and other shopping experiences.

Brisbane Arcade – Early history

• Brisbane Arcade, in the Queen Street Mall, was built in 1923 and designed by architect, Richard Gailey (junior) for Dr James Mayne and his sister Miss Mary Emelia Mayne.
• Brisbane Arcade has had a checkered history. Prior to construction, the Mayne family was shunned by society and socially outcast when it was alleged that their family patriarch, Patrick Mayne (James and Mary Emelia’s father) – on his death bed – had confessed to murdering a man in order to steal a significant sum of money that had enabled him to establish the Mayne family wealth and subsequently Brisbane Arcade.
• The arcade’s architecture is reminiscent of traditional European shopping arcades of the late 18th Century including Edwardian Baroque-style street facades, original terrazzo stairs, dado panelling and lead lighting.
• Early retailers included:
  • S Knowles and Sons Jewellers
  • ‘Eastern Art Salons’, a resident of the arcade from the 1930s until the 1980s, sold delightful handmade doilies and underwear from China
  • Lind’s Umbrellas (who have been in the arcade for more than 60 years)
  • Miss Emily Clegg dressmaker
  • Everest Chair Company (makers of theatre chairs, squatters chairs and chairs for ships)
  • Luxor Shoe Store
  • Cutlery Co.
  • Charles Swieda (toilet room proprietor presumably when bathrooms used to be attended and provide combs etc for visitors)
  • Searls Florists (who were in the arcade until 2002, almost 80 years)
  • Arcade Tobacco and News (who paid 3 pounds per week in rent)
  • George E. Adams cake shop

Brisbane Arcade – Highlights of 1950s/1960s/1970s

• Home to one of Australia’s most notable privately owned art galleries: In February 1952, the Johnstone Gallery opened in the former bomb or air raid shelter in the basement of Brisbane Arcade where it remained for five years before moving to Bowen Hills. The Johnstone Gallery, owned by Brian and Marjorie Johnstone, was one of the most significant privately owned galleries in Australia at the time and attracted many leading artists such as Sir Sidney Nolan, Robert Dickerson, Lawrence Daws, Margaret Olley, Charles Blackman, Ray Crook, Arthur Boyd and Donald Friend.
• Brisbane Arcade’s name has been synonymous with fashion in Brisbane and home to many of our city’s most decorated fashion houses and designers. During the era of the 50s, 60s and into the 70s, Brisbane Arcade was the design headquarters of two of the most significant couturier designers in Australian fashion history – Gwen Gillam and Harvey Graham.
• Gwen Gillam: Gwen Gillam was the leading dress designer in Queensland during the 1950s and 1960s. She was regarded as “the best” by her country and city clientele, as her gorgeous evening and bridal wear reflected European design and were initially made from exclusively imported fabrics. Gillam’s workroom was on the top floor of Brisbane Arcade and her gowns were sold in a glamorous, architecturally designed salon on Brisbane Arcade’s ground floor. Managed by Gwen’s sister Thellie, the salon hosted Brisbane’s fashionable set in a room featuring a white leather couch and mezzanine level.
• Harvey Graham: Brisbane fashionistas of a certain generation remember Harvey Graham as a dapper, rakish figure whose 2-door BMW coupe (possibly the only one in Queensland in the 1960s!) accompanied the leading models of the day – dressed in Harvey Graham couture – in the glamorous ‘Concours d’Elegance’ shows of the 1960s and 1970s. Harvey Graham opened a Brisbane Arcade salon in 1963 and dressed Queensland socialites well into the 1970s.
• Brisbane Arcade was home to Queensland’s first-ever “bistro”: On 14th February 1968, Queensland’s first “bistro”, known as Arcade Bistro opened in Brisbane Arcade. It was one of only a handful of restaurants in Brisbane at the time and was frequented by famous and influential names and identities on a daily basis. Owner Bradley Garrett established Arcade Bistro after returning to Brisbane following many naval travels around the world and felt it was high time that Brisbane had a quality bistro restaurant. Arcade Bistro closed in the early 80s.
• Paul Wright Dancewear Store: Many Brisbane ladies have fond memories of the Paul Wright Dancewear Store which has been referred to as a “shrine to dance” where tutus and dusty pink ballet slippers lined the shop front, much to the delight of young and emerging ballerinas.

Brisbane Arcade – Highlights of 1980s/1990s

• During the 80s and 90s, larger retail chains joined the Arcade’s tenant mix: Sportsgirl fronted Queen Street and Kentucky Fried Chicken occupied the downstairs basement area.
• Other notable businesses included Brisbane pharmacy stalwart Mr Delahunty, a chemist on the ground floor, and Frank’s Souvenir Shop, where Frank would visit Aboriginal communities and source quality original artworks for his clientele.
• The 80s saw the next generation of Brisbane designers set up in Brisbane Arcade and make an indelible mark on the city’s fashion scene locally, nationally and even internationally. Royce Facy, Tim Lindgren, Adam R Dixon, Debra Kolkka, Irma J Smith, Michael Klease and Keri Craig followed by Anthony Leigh Dower’s arrival in the early 90s cemented Brisbane Arcade’s status as a fashion powerhouse.
• It would be these designers who dominated Queensland’s RAQ Awards year after year through the 80s and 90s. Known as “fashion’s night of nights”, Brisbane Arcade designers were highly decorated at these awards and two of the three RAQ Hall of Fame recipients, Keri Craig-Lee and Anthony Lee Dower hailed from Brisbane Arcade.
• Other Queensland fashion designers who have had their early beginnings in Brisbane Arcade include Lydia Pearson of Easton Pearson fame.
• Brisbane Arcade has undergone a number of transformations over the years with the most significant taking place in 1992 when it was Heritage Listed and then in subsequent years restored to its historical glory.

Brisbane Arcade – Current

• Brisbane Arcade has been a constant destination for Brisbane glamour. Current couturiers Darb Couture (Brad Webb), Irma J Smith House of Fashion (Bronwyn Smith), Maiocchi (Deanne Mayocchi), Pia du Pradal Fashions (Pia du Pradal) and Tengdahl (Julie Tengdahl) along with fashion retailers such as 2020 Optical, Belle Folie, Brisbane Hatters, Keri Craig Emporium, Tree of Life and Wendy Louise Designs continue a fashion tradition that spans nine decades.
• Long-term retailers include Robert White Jewellers (1974), Keri Craig (1977) and Irma J Smith (1993). Other well-known stores are Stones Jewellers, Tengdahl, Darb Bridal Couture and Room with Roses.
• Brisbane Arcade has been a favoured dining or meeting destination for morning, afternoon or special high tea occasions at venues such as Room with Roses and Keri-Craig Emporium – one of the earliest Brisbane venues to offer traditional “high tea”.
• The Brisbane Arcade Spring Flower Show was established in 2014 and has a changing theme each year. Past themes have included Spring Fair (2018) Spring Jungle (2017), The Enchanted Forest (2016), Spring Forest (2015) and Colour My Senses (2014).

For further information about Brisbane Arcade:
Visit: www.brisbanearcade.com.au
Facebook at www.facebook.com/brisbanearcade
Instagram @brisbanearcade