New Melbourne hotel takes cool cues from legendary fashion photographer

The art and fashion circles of 1980s Melbourne would have been very familiar with the erotic glamour of international photographer Helmut Newton. The much imitated, high-end aesthetic of his often monochrome work featuring glamazon muses such as Grace Jones and Claudia Schiffer which appeared on the pages of fashion magazines informed many sartorial and creative choices of the city’s stylish youth. But few would have known of his connection to their home.

Jewish German Newton arrived in the Victorian capital as a refugee escaping the Nazis in 1940, working as a photographer here before moving to Europe in the 1960s where his star ascended. He died in a 2004 car accident in Los Angeles at the age of 83.

An exhibition at the Jewish Museum of Australia in St Kilda early this year shone remarkable light on his life in Melbourne.

Now a new hotel is a permanent Australian celebration of both Newton’s local connection and his overall illustrious (and often controversial) legacy. Inhabiting the building that was the Holiday Inn, Hotel Indigo Melbourne on Flinders is on the corner of Spencer Street and Flinders Lane, home of the city’s long-gone Jewish rag trade and not far from the studio in which Newton worked.

The 216-room hotel’s fit-out is by Suede Interior Design, a Melbourne-based firm with a portfolio including work on the hotels Crystalbrook Byron, Crystalbrook Kingsley and Voco Melbourne Central.

At Hotel Indigo Melbourne on Flinders, the Newton-esque and photographic motifs begin in the lobby and lounge with collected and commissioned pieces as well as a selfie booth, then continue into the rooms with a “lights, camera, action”-themed design popping with local artworks.

Biology care amenities, Seed & Sprout bathrobes, spacious work desks and Melbourne’s Cartel coffee are some of the touches that will ensure the hotel’s beauty is more than skin deep. A mezzanine level fitness centre will soon open.

In keeping with the buzzy locale, Hotel Indigo on Flinders includes streetside Spanish bar and restaurant BESO with acclaimed Spanish Melburnian chef Ana Cortes Garcia, and restaurateur Guy Holder directing proceedings.