In this 1956 photograph, one of Bruno Benini’s first and favorite fashion shots, model Pauline Kiernan wears a strapless sheath evening gown by Theo Haskin of Salon Milano, Melbourne. Pauline Kiernan was a very successful Australian model. Originally from Armidale in rural northern New South Wales, she worked as a nurse before being encouraged by Sydney photographer John Hearder to pursue a modeling career. After attending June Dally–Watkin’s school, Kiernan travelled to London in October 1956 to model Australian clothes. She then spent the next two years in Paris, during which time she modeled for Chanel. However, it was in New York with the Ford Modeling Agency that Kiernan achieved her greatest success, becoming one of Ford’s most sought after models. Eileen Ford said of Kiernan, “In a world where beauty is just a commonplace, this Australian stands out as having the quality and elegance that women all over the world ever seek – and can’t buy”. (Feldman, R. ‘The girl “who owns the world” ’ The Australian Women’s Weekly, January 27 1960, pp 8-9.)
Photography by Bruno Benini
© Estate of Bruno Benini
Post by Alysha Buss, Museum Studies Intern, Curatorial
