Want to know why DJs went bust? Walk through one of its stores at midday

November 5, 2026 — 4:00pm

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In February 2019, I was one of about 100 VIPs and media flown to Tasmania’s Museum of Old and New Art (MONA) for David Jones’ twice-annual season launch. The event was a who’s who of Australian fashion: Carla Zampatti, Bianca Spender, Rebecca Vallance, and the founders of brands including Aje and Romance was Born. Models. Celebrities. It was the invite of the year.

As I sat next to model Gemma Ward sipping champagne and feasting on an “edible table” of seemingly bottomless seafood, the question everyone was asking themselves was: How good is this? But like most Camelot-esque scenes, another, more ominous question was hovering just off-stage: How long can it last?

As the fashion editor of this masthead from 2016 until 2024, I covered a range of topics, including royal weddings, “superfake” bags and sexual harassment. But few subjects inspired more feedback or chatter among my peers than the so-called “store wars” between David Jones and Myer.

The term was coined to describe the roughly decade-long tussle between the two companies for brands, which were often signed on exclusivity deals, and celebrity ambassadors (and, later, the somewhat cringe-inducing term “friends”).

While at times the war may have been somewhat exaggerated (Megan v Jennifer; Misha v Maticevski; Caulfield v Flemington),........

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