‘Package Holiday 1968-1985’: a very British love affair in pictures
‘Package Holiday’ recalls tans, table tennis and Technicolor in Trevor Clark’s wistful snaps of sun-seeking Brits
![Vintage photos of Brits on holiday in Spain from the book Package Holiday 1968-1985](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/vsxWxX2j2bkimRkdHBxkT7-415-80.png)
A new book, The Package Holiday 1968 - 1985, published by Hoxton Mini Press (available from Amazon), taps into 1970s Brits’ love of sun, sea and teensy weensy Speedos.
In 1960s Britain, jetting ‘abroad’ was a pursuit associated with sophisticated socialites like Aristotle and Jacqueline Onassis, characters such as James Bond and working-class superstars the Beatles. It was only the late 1950s that British European Airways set up its ‘package holiday’ deals to Spain, incorporating short flights, hotel, all-day board, and lashings of family-friendly fun, with Valencia being the first destination. The deals were a hit, and the White Coast region got a canny rebrand as ‘Costa Blanca’ soon after.
Package Holiday: a very British love affair in pictures
Sunny delight: It was only in 1958 that British European Airways had set up ‘package holiday’ deals to Spain
By the 1970s, many Britons, accustomed to their nation’s short or often rain-drenched summers, were thirsty for a taste of the White Coast and its exotic promise of tans, al fresco dining, and bourgeois sports such as table tennis. The chance to slip into something more comfortable by way of Speedos, bikinis and super-short shorts was an added, and most obviously welcome, extra.
The White Coast offered an exotic promise of tans, al fresco dining, and bourgeois sports
None of this new-found Technicolor fun was lost on the London Royal Air Force-trained photographer Trevor Clark, an Eastender who, having set up a studio in Soho, had become the go-to photographer in 1960s Swinging London, documenting the exploits of bands such as the Beatles and The Rolling Stones while he was at it.
Trevor Clark's images capture the ambitions of a generation eager to escape life in a rapidly de-industrialising Britain
Clark fancied a few rays himself and spotted a gap in the market photographing the wave of newly established resorts in the Balearics, and Mallorca in particular. His images, now collected in a book by his son Jake Clark, not only captured the glamour of the location – those saturated colours would have seemed like a window into another universe on the brochure stands of high-street travel agents back in Blighty – but reflected the ambitions of a generation eager to escape the social and economic restraints of life in a rapidly de-industrialising Britain. Two weeks in Magaluf were, then, an exercise in aspiration acted out in the new style of nylon leisure suits and, a dream that was accessible in the way that Carnaby Street’s delights of the previous decade simply weren’t.
The Package Holiday 1968 - 1985, by Jake Clark with photography by Trevor Clark, at hoxtonminipress.com, also available at Amazon
Wallpaper* Newsletter + Free Download
For a free digital copy of August Wallpaper*, celebrating Creative America, sign up today to receive our daily digest of inspiration, escapism and design stories
Caragh McKay is a contributing editor at Wallpaper* and was watches & jewellery director at the magazine between 2011 and 2019. Caragh’s current remit is cross-cultural and her recent stories include the curious tale of how Muhammad Ali met his poetic match in Robert Burns and how a Martin Scorsese Martin film revived a forgotten Osage art.
-
‘Hedonistic and avant-garde’: Rabanne’s Julian Dossena on the legacy of the chainmail 1969 bag
Paco Rabanne’s 1969 chainmail handbag encapsulates the late designer’s futuristic, space-age style. Current creative director Julien Dossena tells Wallpaper* about the bag’s particular pleasures
By Jack Moss Published
-
Postcard from Paris: Olympic fever takes over the streets
On the eve of the opening ceremony of Paris 2024, our correspondent shares her views from the streets of the capital about how the event is impacting the urban landscape.
By Minako Norimatsu Published
-
The Mercury Prize nominees for 2024 have been revealed
Charli XCX, The Last Dinner Party and Beth Gibbons are amongst this year's nominees
By Charlotte Gunn Published
-
How the west won: Ivan McClellan is amplifying the intrepid beauty of Black cowboy culture
In his new book, 'Eight Seconds: Black Cowboy Culture', Ivan McClellan draws us into the world of Black rodeo. Wallpaper* meets the photographer ahead of his Juneteenth Rodeo
By Tracy Kawalik Published
-
‘Art Exposed’: Julian Spalding on everything that’s wrong with the art world
In ‘Art Exposed’, Julian Spalding draws on his 40 years in the art world – as a museum director, curator, and critic – for his series of essays
By Alfred Tong Published
-
Marisol Mendez's ‘Madre’ unpicks the woven threads of Bolivian womanhood
From ancestry to protest, how Marisol Mendez’s 'Madre' is rewriting the narrative of Bolivian womanhood
By Sofia de la Cruz Published
-
Photo book explores the messy, magical mundanity of new motherhood
‘Sorry I Gave Birth I Disappeared But Now I’m Back’ by photographer Andi Galdi Vinko explores new motherhood in all its messy, beautiful reality
By Hannah Silver Published
-
Best contemporary art books: a guide for 2024
From maverick memoirs to topical tomes, turn over a new leaf with the Wallpaper* arts desk’s pick of new releases and all-time favourite art books
By Hannah Silver Last updated
-
The best photography books for your coffee table
Flick through, mull over and deep-dive into the best photography books on the market, from our shelves to you
By Sophie Gladstone Last updated
-
Behind the scenes of Stanley Kubrick’s The Shining: new book charts the making of a horror icon
Published in February 2023 by Taschen, a new collector's book will go behind the scenes of Stanley Kubrick’s The Shining, charting the unseen making of a film that defined the horror genre
By Harriet Lloyd-Smith Published
-
Brad Walls’ aerial view transforms pools into artwork
Aerial photographer Brad Walls provides a crisp conclusion to the summer months with new book Pools From Above – you’ll want to dive right in
By Martha Elliott Last updated