From David Bowie to The Spice Girls, Photographer Dave Benett Captured the ‘90s
If you’ve ever scrolled through a slideshow of celebrity photos from the ’90s, you’ve seen photographer Dave Benett’s work. He’s the man behind iconic images of Naomi Campbell and Kate Moss, Prince and David Bowie, and The Spice Girls. You name a ’90s icon; he’s photographed them in some of their most candid moments. Originally from London, Benett began photographing in 1977 at the age of 19 whatever was in the news: “It would be football, crime scenes, bank robberies, or someone’s wedding all in the same week,” he recalls. He quickly discovered though that his photographs of celebrities made not only more money, but also allowed his images to be seen globally. He went on to pioneer the paparazzi craze, back when there were only ten or so guys standing outside an event. “There was a lot of fun in the ’90s,” he says. “Parties were still unpredictable we’d often have unrestricted access to characters known for their spontaneous behavior. In a lot of ways, it was the last time people weren’t so uptight. Pre-social media, there was so much less scrutiny over every aspect of life.” Benett has a thriving Instagram account, however, where commenters share memories and millennials re-discover the decade. Here, he shares his own favorites.
1
Princess Diana with Liza Minelli, 1991 “This was taken when Diana invited herself to the party. For stepping out, it was very rare for her to go to these kinds of parties, but she loved to dance so much that she did. It was just a stolen 10 seconds where we got to see her and Liza laughing together.”
2
Naomi Campbell and Joachim Cortes, 1997 “This was a great and fiery love affair where she couldn’t speak Spanish and he could’t speak English. Sadly doomed from the start but beautiful while it lasted.”
3
Kate Moss, 1997 “Kate moss shooting a toy gun at Ronnie Wood’s Wild West birthday party. Mick Jagger was sulking all night because he came dressed as an Indian chief and didn’t like his outfit.”
4
David Bowie, 1990 “This was on one of Bowie’s rare visits to London. By this point, he was happily married to Iman and spent most of his time in New York, so we rarely saw him outside of his concert tours, but this was at a restaurant and he just posed up for this intense portrait.”
5
Ginger Spice at the Brit Awards, 1997 “We were very lucky to get this picture because it just encapsulated the Cool Brittania Girl Power moment of the Brit Awards in 1997.”
6
McCauley Kulkin and Kieran Culkin, 1991 “I love this picture because even though he was so small he turned up with someone smaller than him and they were both dressed in tuxes like mini adults.”
7
John Galliano, London Fashion Week, 1992 “This is when John’s genius was taking over fashion but he was equally known for his outrageous dress sense. Only he could dress like that!”
8
Michael Jackson, 1992 “Michael, Mickey, and Minnie had travelled from Disneyland Paris to London, landing at Haggerston Park so that they could visit the children at Queen Elizabeth hospital.”
9
Brad Pitt and Gwyneth Paltrow, The Ivy, 1995 “They’d been having dinner with Gary Oldman and were one of the hottest A-list couples at the time.”
10
Prince at MTV VH1 party, 1991 “This was when Prince was at his most flamboyant and stylish, walking the line between genius and madness! My favourite memory of Prince was the fun we had running around London when he came to town. I remember him diving into his limo from the door of a nightclub without touching the pavement so you could’t get a picture.”
11
Hugh Grant and his girlfriend Elizabeth Hurley, 1994 “One of my most famous shots was Liz Hurley at the party for “Four Weddings and a Funeral” in a safety pin Versace dress. This launched her career, ensuring that the next day the only person anyone was talking about was her and she wasn’t even in the film!”
12
Fashion designer Karl Lagerfeld gives away supermodel Kristen McMenamy at her wedding to photographer Miles Aldridge in Kensington, 21st October 1997.
13
Liza Walker and model Kate Moss at Rock For Dockers held at Sound Republic on October 17, 1998 in London.
