Benedetta Barzini

In honour of Labour Day, this models post is devoted to iconic model and political activist Benedetta Barzini.

Benedetta Barzini (b. 1943) grew up in Porto Santo Stefano and New York City. She worked as a model in New York for four years after being discovered by Diana Vreeland. Here she appears on the cover of Vogue Italia’s inaugural issue:

Although Barzini returned to Italy to act, in the early 1970s she left acting and modelling to pursue Marxist-feminist teaching and political activism. She returned to modelling in the late 1980s. As of 2013 Barzini was a Professor of Fashion and Anthropology at the Polytechnic Institute of Milan. (Recent interview here.)

Gianni Penati photographed Barzini for a spring 1965 Vogue Patterns editorial for Vogue magazine. The patterns are Vogue 1429 by Christian Dior and Vogue 6534:

Update: Barzini also appears in this McCall’s designer editorial. The patterns are McCall’s 8620 by Donald Brooks and McCall’s 8616 by Pauline Trigère:

I have seen only one Vogue pattern with Barzini on the envelope. In 1967, Len Steckler photographed her in Vogue 1775 by Chuck Howard, a pattern from the new Vogue Americana line:

Barzini was also featured on the cover of the Vogue Patterns catalogue for August 1967:

Happy Labour Day, everyone!