the map village street editors

Over centuries, the cobbled streets of Paris have provided inspiration for people of all passions and vocations. For Ernest Hemingway, it lit the literary fire within. For Vincent van Gogh, it was awash with colours that could only be captured in a passionate flurry of paint. For Edith Piaf, it was the emotional carousel that fuelled her desire to sing. And for Shan Bauer, the gregarious owner of Brisbane fashion institution, Camargue, simply getting lost amongst those cobbled streets is inspiration in itself. For behind the unassuming doors that line those streets, lies a wealth of fashion inspiration, from artisanal accessories to glorious handmade frocks. It is these sartorial treasures that Shan brings home from her regular trips to Paris, accompanied by her knowing smile and captivating tales, that have made her Brisbane boutique beloved by generations of women.

If there has been one discerning eye that has cast its shrewd gaze over Brisbane fashion for the past 30 years, it belongs to Shan Bauer. Since first setting up shop on the Caxton Street stretch of Paddington in 1978, Shan has not only watched Brisbane grow up into a dynamic metropolis, but she has also seen many a fashion designer and fashion boutique left in its wake. Her own boutique, Camargue, which now calls The Emporium home, has dressed generations of Brisbane’s style mavens in its three decades of being. The secret to its longevity, is not a generous financial backer nor a willingness to pander to the masses, but rather Shan’s extroverted love for people of all types coupled with her innate eye for unique fashions.
Contrary to the cutthroat environment that characterises today’s fashion industry, when Shan made the somewhat rash decision to enter into the sartorial world, she shares, there was very little competition. Following a successful nursing career that saw her eventually run the Mater Hospital’s orthopaedic ward, Shan’s foray into fashion began not as one might expect. Her childhood dreams were nothing to do with fashion; in fact, she divulges with slight embarrassment, what she dreamed of for many years was to become a missionary in Papua New Guinea.

“It was completely opportunistic,” she laughs of her decision to open up a dress boutique. “I knew nothing about fashion and at the time I was working as the receptionist in my then-husband’s surgery. I had a friend who worked at an interesting high-end shoe shop in Caxton Street and I happened to just say to her one day: ‘This is really exciting to have a shop like this out here now, what a pity there aren’t any other clothing or accessory shops around.’ Then one day she called me and said that the grocer over the road from her shop wanted to retire and lease his grocer shop. I didn’t ask my husband. I didn’t ask my accountant. I just decided on my own to open up a frock shop. I had to take over the grocery shop and sell out all the groceries, but I had no idea what I needed to do to start a shop. I knew
I needed dressing rooms and I knew I needed racks, but that was it.”
This feet-first attitude is one that has become trademark to Shan, who admits that, for her, fashion was an acquired taste. “I made a lot of mistakes along the way, but I tried to only make them once. And as the shop evolved, I learned to love it,” she reflects. “I think if I had the choice, I‘d have owned an art gallery – I’m a frustrated gallerist,” she laughs.
After six years on Caxton Street, under the retail moniker La Mode Shan (which she reveals with a conspiratorial whisper) Shan seized the opportunity to move deeper into the heart of Paddington. She took up residence on a prime perch on the bend of Given Terrace that nudges into Latrobe Terrace, and it was here that she would stay for the next two decades, with the move also heralding a change in name. “A friend of mine, Pierre, came in to the store and he’d just come back from Europe,” she explains of how the new name eventuated. “He sat down, crossed his legs and had the most amazing pair of riding boots on. I asked him where he’d bought them and he said ‘Camargue’ and I knew instantly that would be the name of the shop.”

For anyone with an interest in the evolution of Brisbane’s fashion industry, to sit and listen to Shan’s stories is an absolute pleasure, as she reveals the follies and foibles of thirty years in the world of frocks. And many of the characters who make appearances in her captivating tales, which Shan narrates with a fond glint in her eye, are now veritable darlings of fashion, both nationally and overseas. But to Shan they are the wonderful people who have made their contribution to the elaborate and complex canvas that is Camargue.

Shan recalls fondly when Lydia Pearson first began making shirts and had them delivered to Camargue, long before the advent of Easton Pearson. This willingness to take a chance on the unknown and stock outside the mainstream is perhaps another of the secrets to Shan’s longevity. “As things changed I took on more labels and let some go and kept things evolving constantly,” she explains. “We’ve never used models in our catalogues or fashion shows because I just really felt that to represent what I did and what I liked, we had to use real women. So we used actors, artists, singers, dancers, and all sorts of interesting people.”
Her love for people, and genuine care for her clients, work colleagues and everyone she has encountered over the past thirty years is palpable. People, she iterates, are her true passion. “Having been in business for 30 years is quite an extraordinary thing. I have girls whose daughters shop with me now and they themselves have teenage children. I adore my clients,” she gushes.

Though many would argue to the contrary, Shan is reluctant to call herself a fashionista. “I’m not particularly fashionable, but I love fashion in general,” she explains. “If I lean toward anything, it’s really the artisan part of the fashion world. It’s the artisan who makes beautiful jewellery, or shoes, or who does beautiful clothing. That artisanal side is so important, particularly in a time when so many things are just made ad hoc in big factories. There’s such an appreciation for things that are cared for and made that way.”

The opportunity to indulge this passion comes twice a year for Shan, when she makes her treasured visits to Paris for the fashion shows, to source new pieces for her collection. “The first time I ever went to Paris, I was in my twenties,” she recalls, eyes sparkling.
“It had the exact same effect on me that it has today – it just welcomes you. You feel cocooned and it always surprises you – there’s something to see around every corner. I just love getting on that plane and going.”
The inherent storyteller in Shan immediately comes to life when Paris springs to mind, as she recalls a mental scrapbook of magical experiences and days spent wandering the French capital’s history-laden streets. “Paris is just one of those wonderful cities, along with New York and Rome, where you have to be able to spend at least four or five days to just walk and take the city in. For me, in that sense, Paris and New York are the most beautiful cities and half the joy there is getting lost. That’s the way I sometimes happen upon really interesting ateliers where small accessory makers are working.”

The true care with which Shan cultivates each of Camargue’s seasonal collections is no doubt what has enabled her to gather such a devoted following of women who have trusted her to accoutre them in beautiful dresses and accessories for decades. But she is quick to put things into perspective.

“It’s important for me to realise and understand that frocks aren’t rocket science,” she clarifies. “It’s in the same realm as listening to wonderful music, gardening, reading good books, eating good food, drinking good wine and wonderful travel. It’s something we spoil ourselves with and we love to do, but it’s not the most important thing that we need to think about.”
Recently celebrating her 60th birthday has given Shan the chance to reflect upon her life and take stock of what matters to her most. “I’m inspired
by people who are different – people who are challenged or who are not the norm,” she intones thoughtfully.

“At the moment there’s such an emphasis on perfection and for people to be perfect. I am so inspired by people with disabilities of all descriptions,
who get up everyday of their lives and go out and face the world. I think they’re extraordinary people and it really puts things in perspective.”
And as for her dreams for the future, Shan reveals that there are still many different parts of the world that beckon her to come and lose herself – including the Camargue region in France.“I’ve been to France so many times and I’ve never been there!” she exclaims with a lilt of irony. “But I will get there. It has all of that beautiful mythology about it and it’s just a wonderful interesting place.”

But her plans to travel to far-flung parts of the world aside, Shan states that her true goal is to enjoy each day and the beauty that it brings, abiding by one simple philosophy: “Try to be kind and don’t be judgmental, because people really are so surprising and wonderful.”

Interview by Mikki Brammer
Photography by Alice Muhling