Early years
Sheila Scotter was born in 1920 in Calcutta, India, to parents Harold and Winifred.
At the age of four, she was sent to boarding school at St Swithun’s School, Winchester, England, and would only see her parents once every four years.
After school, Sheila studied aeronautical engineering, achieving the highest mark in England for one of her subjects.
Soon, however, she found her calling in the world of fashion, working as a model for a number of English fashion houses, including Hardy Amies.
Career
In 1949, Sheila moved to Melbourne, Australia, the city where she would spend the better part of her life.
In Melbourne, she worked as a fashion buyer for Myer, and later George’s.
She then joined the Everglaze Ban-Lon marketing division in 1956 and began running their continental division from Paris in 1958.
In 1962, Sheila secured the role that would define her career, becoming editor (she preferred the title editor-in-chief) at Vogue Australia.
While she only worked at the magazine for about nine years, in that time she left an indelible imprint on its style and on the entire world of fashion in Australia.
During this time, she also founded Vogue Living and edited Vogue New Zealand. Sheila brought a new sense of European glamour to the Antipodean publications, deftly following the latest trends in Paris and elsewhere.
She was a popular figure in the media and an unmissable presence on the Melbourne scene, distinguished by her fierce personality, charm and trademark style – from the early 1980s on she exclusively wore black and white.
After Vogue, Sheila made her mark as a philanthropist supporting artistic and other causes. She was a member of the board of Opera Australia from 1969– 72, and the board of the Victorian State Opera from 1980– 83, also serving as Foundation Vice-Chairman of the Victorian State Opera Foundation from 1982– 88 and Chairman of the Dame Joan Hammond Award in 1988.
Her contributions were recognised with an MBE in 1970 for journalism and commerce and an Order of Australia in 1992 for “service to the arts, particularly through fund-raising.”
Personal life
Sheila was married twice. First, to Geoffrey Batten-Pearce in London at the age of 22 and later to Alan Ford McIntyre in Melbourne at the age of 31. Each marriage ended in divorce after three years.
In her 1998 memoir, Sheila Scotter; Snaps, Stories and Secrets From My Life, Sheila claimed a long list of high-profile men with whom she had enjoyed “platonic friendships that aren’t,” including Harold Holt and Sir Frank Packer.
One of the most important relationships in her life was an intimate friendship with the actor, designer and artistic director John Truscott.
Death
In 2009, Sheila made detailed plans for her own funeral, including the casket, the party and her burial clothes – a white quilted dressing gown. “So I am warm,” she said.
She died in Albert Park, Melbourne on 6 April 2012, aged 91. On her request, she was buried at Emerald Cemetery, directly beside her friend John Truscott.
Bibliography
Heywood A (2013) Scotter, Sheila Winifred Gordon (1920 - 2012), The Australian Women’s Register, The University of Melbourne and The National Foundation for Australian Women [website]
Money L (2012) The formidable Silver Duchess makes her exit after a life of exemplary style, Sydney Morning Herald, Sydney
McGiness M (2012) Mark McGinness, "'Silver duchess' cut a swath through society's upper crust", The Age, Melbourne
Image source
Photo credit Rob Banks. Image from Sydney Morning Herald.