For over five decades from the 1950s, Bruno Benini was one of Australia’s most distinguished and talented Australian fashion photographers. His body of work began with the elegant couture of the 50s and moved with the times, reflecting the mod and hippy 60s, the funky styles of the 70s, to the body conscious images in the 80s, concluding with athletic fashion in the 90s.
He was among a cadre of brilliant émigré commercial photographers who came to prominence in post war Australia. While he gained a glittering reputation for elegance and charm, it was his professionalism and meticulous attention to detail that made him a popular choice among fashion houses and retailers. Every garment he photographed was shown perfectly, and often dramatically, in scenes that he and his wife Hazel created and that Australia’s leading models enacted.
Bruno’s Tuscan heritage was at the core of his persona. Born near Siena, he arrived in Australia aged 10 in 1935. Surviving the culture shock of life and schooling in Carlton, the centre for Italians living in Melbourne, he studied science and worked in industry. But, in his early twenties, a trip to Europe including Britain and Italy, inspired him to pursue a career in photography.
When he returned to Melbourne in the early 1950’s, Bruno joined the Peter Fox photographic studio in Collins Street, the largest of its kind in Victoria. In those times, the central office took bookings for home portraits, country weddings, debutante balls and other functions, and then photographers were assigned in pairs and sent off by bus for a few days to cover each event. While there, Bruno collaborated with Henry Talbot, a German-born contemporary who was beginning to carve out a niche in fashion photography.
In a bold move, Bruno went out on his own three years later to open his first studio in Kew. He photographed weddings, debutante and portraits, but once established, fashion became the mainstay. He attracted commissions from leading designers including Hall Ludlow, The Gown of the Year, The Wool Board and Theo Haskin’s Salon Milano. Simultaneously, Bruno’s good looks led him to model for Helmut Newton, Athol Shmith and Henry Talbot. While on the opposite side of the camera, he took the opportunity to learn from them, examining and adapting their lighting and studio techniques.
By 1958, Bruno longed to see the world and learn more. In what proved a formative experience, he headed to New York and London, where he reconnected with Helmut Newton and his wife June and a host of fashion expats and models. Embracing the exciting London scene, he enjoyed the heady company revolving around David Bailey and Tony Armstrong-Jones. During this period, he worked with John French, celebrated in his day as an expert in the use of natural light and low contrast. This allowed him to perfect the art of photographing fashion for reproduction in newsprint.
On his return home in 1959, Bruno set up his studio in Block Place and built a following of prominent clients. His house style embodied a distinctively atmospheric outdoor approach to fashion photography - its style and elegance characterise many of the photographs available through this gallery.
The early 1960s were marked by a break with the past and accelerating change in technology and society - and Bruno thrived at the forefront of fashion developments in Australia. And in late 1959, his own life changed dramatically when he met Hazel Craig, a young New Zealand artist working in display at Hicks Atkinson, a large Melbourne department store. They were soul mates from the word go, married in 1962 and enjoyed a love match that lasted to the end.
Bruno moved his studio into larger premises in McKillop Street, where, in the lobby, visitors would encounter black felt covered walls, covered with blow-ups of his favourite work. When Hazel accepted an offer from Sportsgirl to head their display department, she incorporated Bruno’s blow-ups in attention-catching window displays and interiors. In 1966, the young married couple teamed up in what became an extraordinarily successful and enduring creative alliance. Their partnership produced an esteemed body of black and white fashion photography, shot both in the studio and on location.
When the man-made fibre revolution swept through the mid-60s, Bruno’s work with designers focused increasingly on publicity for garments in new fabrics and blow ups for fashion launches in leading hotels. It was the era of flamboyant colours, sportswear, and pants-suits (although social attitudes lagged - many restaurants required a woman to be accompanied by a man in a suit).
By 1970, the partnership’s clientele included all the top fashion and accessory brands – such as Ninette and Nutmeg, Solo, Prue Acton, Norma Tullo, Laura Ashley, Gala Gowns, Sportscraft and Sportsgirl. Di Comben (later Lisle-Williams), a PR professional, joined at this time and worked with Hazel for several years, preparing and pushing press releases and publicity into Australia’s major publications.
Bruno and Hazel’s reputations were enhanced by their legendary Friday night parties and Sunday lunches, attended by the most interesting guests in town, offering delicious food and always - a knock-out punch! Their long studio lunches were loved by fashion editors, who were guaranteed a fun time with outrageous stories and the best industry gossip.
During this era, fashion store openings were major happenings – organised by Hazel, many were photographed by the ever-elegant Bruno, and attended by the press! To the delight of passers-by, the 1967 opening of Fiorucci’s in South Yarra featured swimsuit-clad models dancing in the windows! In 1973, Sydney’s Raymond Castles boutique opened with a society-pages cocktail party. In the same year, Maggie Bromilow launched the first Yves Saint Laurent shop in Toorak with a parade at the Southern Cross Ballroom, which was dominated by floor to ceiling photographic blow-ups of the new collection. Hazel designed the show - and what a show it was. From a door at either end of the ballroom, models emerged to converge in the centre of the ‘Y’ shaped catwalk where Peter Allen tinkled the ivories at a large grand piano. The event was a sell-out!.
Travelling together to Europe in 1973 and 1975, the Beninis visited London and Paris before enjoying Italy - Milan, Rome, Florence and Sardinia – and photographing clients’ garments along the way.
When ‘Nudumsky’– the smartest hair salon in Collins Street opened, the invitation was changed to a cocktail brunch so the Herald could run a front page shot of the three models with the latest cuts.
Top Australian models were drawn to Melbourne because of its fashion scene and appeared in Bruno’s photographs. Among the many were Maggie Tabberer, Janice Wakely, Maggie Eckhardt, Helen Homewood, Jan Stewart, Bambi Shmith, Nerida Piggin and Jan Stewart.
In the late 1980’s, Greg Tyshing, owner of the Giant Male Model Agency, was a client. At that time, Australian men were popular in Europe, so Greg sent those who fitted the brief to Bruno for body shots. Changing his lighting completely, Bruno used a stronger technique that emphasised the musculature and characteristics of the body. Over the decades, he was also in demand from visiting and local actors, writers, artists, dancers, designers and pop singers, who would call to have their portraits taken.
Bruno’s other interest was delicate, coloured, still life photography of flowers, a refreshing and fascinating pastime.
Maggie Eckhard with the Commonwealth Minster for the Arts Peter Garrett, Maggie Tabberer and Hazel Benini at Powerhouse Media Launch, May 2009.
Bruno retired from commercial photography in the late 1990s. He passed away in 2001.
The Museum of Applied arts and Sciences (MAAS/Powerhouse Museum) Sydney acquired the Bruno Benini fashion photography archive from his widow Hazel Benini in 2009, with the support of funding from the Australian Government’s National Cultural Heritage Account. Spanning fifty years of fashion and cultural evolution and revolution, the thousands of photographs in this stellar collection reflect Bruno Benini’s powerful graphic sense, attention to lighting and darkroom skills.
The following year, in 2010, the Powerhouse Museum presented one of the greatest photographic exhibitions ever seen in Sydney, and perhaps Australia, called ‘Creating the Look: Benini and fashion photography’ which ran for nine months
In 2019, Australia Post issued a set of 4 fashion stamps from the country’s leading photographers – Bruno Benini was one of those honoured in this very public way. Hazel, who was 90 at the time, was thrilled by the accolade.