What Will Be Worn

Duration: 60 minutes

Melissa Fagan discusses her latest book What Will Be Worn; a tender and searching story of mothers and daughters and the legacy of the once-grand department store that binds them. 

Sometimes it seems the most invaluable stories can be found in the unlikeliest of corners.

For all who know Brisbane, McWhirters, a once celebrated department store in Fortitude Valley, is an icon. For Melissa Fagan it is also the starting point for this remarkable exploration of her mother and grandmother’s lives, and a poignant  reminder of the ways in which retail stores and fashion have connected women’s lives across decades.

Behind the dusty shop counters of an Art Deco treasure, Fagan discovers both what has been lost and continues to shine. Ultimately this tender exploration of self and family, so exquisitely written,  speaks of the ways in which life so often surprises us and of how the legacies of others can truly enrich our own relationships and lives.

Presented by The University of Queensland.