Object numberM2012/041:043
CreatorIan Morgan photographer
DescriptionThis is a black and white photograph showing John Hilton with models displaying his fashions. On the back it is stamped with 'Photographie Studio H. Wyden 30, rue de l'Ale Lausanne'.
John Hilton was one of Sydney’s most successful fashion manufacturers. His success in Australia had its roots in a small town near Bratislava, where the parents of Gyula Heitler depended on his help in their general store. Here he learned how to buy and sell. Arriving from Europe in 1947, Gyula changed his name to John J Hilton and worked for his sponsor Alexander ‘Gigi’ Schwarz at Olympia Fashions, a dress shop in Pitt Street. Together with his elder brother Emil he started a business manufacturing ladies knitwear.
Adopting the trading name, John J Hilton, they looked around for what Australia might not have in fashion and decided to focus on women in their mid-twenties and older, offering them elegant frocks at a fair price. The dresses would be durable and not likely to go out of fashion quickly. He made up a slogan ‘It’s a Honey, It’s a Hilton’. The business grew to 100 employees. With showrooms around Australia and representatives in Paris, New York and London, John J Hilton was one of the first to export Australian fashion to Japan, as well as to Singapore, Hong Kong, Canada and United States. A pioneer in the use of wool in women’s dresses, John J Hilton was the recipient of fashion awards, including the Australian Wool Award.
John Hilton was one of Sydney’s most successful fashion manufacturers. His success in Australia had its roots in a small town near Bratislava, where the parents of Gyula Heitler depended on his help in their general store. Here he learned how to buy and sell. Arriving from Europe in 1947, Gyula changed his name to John J Hilton and worked for his sponsor Alexander ‘Gigi’ Schwarz at Olympia Fashions, a dress shop in Pitt Street. Together with his elder brother Emil he started a business manufacturing ladies knitwear.
Adopting the trading name, John J Hilton, they looked around for what Australia might not have in fashion and decided to focus on women in their mid-twenties and older, offering them elegant frocks at a fair price. The dresses would be durable and not likely to go out of fashion quickly. He made up a slogan ‘It’s a Honey, It’s a Hilton’. The business grew to 100 employees. With showrooms around Australia and representatives in Paris, New York and London, John J Hilton was one of the first to export Australian fashion to Japan, as well as to Singapore, Hong Kong, Canada and United States. A pioneer in the use of wool in women’s dresses, John J Hilton was the recipient of fashion awards, including the Australian Wool Award.
Production placeSwitzerland
SubjectFashion, fashion designers, migration, survivors, Holocaust, Australian Jewish history, photographs, photographs
Object namephotographs
Materialphotographic emulsion, paper, paper
Dimensions
- photograph width: 175.00 mm
height: 232.00 mm
Credit lineSydney Jewish Museum Collection, Donated by Jeffrey Hilton