In fashion
Bianca Spender’s
THE ARTIST WHO HAS BEEN AN ENDURING INFLUENCE? There are many. For installations that take you to another world: James Turrell, Anish Kapoor [1], Olafur Eliasson, Fiona Hall [2], Tamara Dean. For form: Elisabeth Frink [3], Lucian Freud, Anna-wili Highfield. For texture: CY Twombly [4], Gerhard Richter [5], Anselm Kiefer. For ideas: Sophie Calle, Hiroshi Sugimoto. DO YOU COLLECT ANYTHING? Anna-wili Highfield horse sculptures. It was the first piece of art I bought and it has been a love affair since. Bugs – I find the form, markings and wings entrancing. Jars – I have quite a collection. FASHION MUST-HAVES? Coats. I love long sculptural coats, for the way they make you feel as they enwrap you and the way they hang. FAVOURITE WATCH? My grandfather’s Patek Philippe watch. My dad gave it to me for my 30th birthday and I have worn it ever since. FRAGRANCE OF CHOICE? Lavender oil. BOOKS – WHAT ARE YOU READING NOW – BOTH FICTION AND ART/ DESIGN? Haruki Murakami’s Men Without Women [6] – he always takes me to a magical world. Tim Winton’s The Boy Behind the Curtain. Doris Lessing’s Love, Again. MUSIC – WHAT’S ON ROTATION AT OFFICE AND HOME? Blonde Redhead’s Barragán – I started playing it on holiday road trips and I can’t stop. Finally We Are No One by Múm – my go-to when I need to feel inspired. Aldous Harding – a new discovery [7]. FAVOURITE FLOWERS? White orchids and Australian natives – smoke bush, flowering gum, black kangaroo paw [8]. BEST DOWNTIME (IF YOU HAVE ANY) PURSUIT? Swimming in ocean pools. Exploring the Australian bush and being immersed in nature with no phone reception, no cars, just bushwalks, swims, kayaking. DO YOU PREFER COFFEE OR TEA – FAVOURITE BLENDS? I am a tea girl, I gave up coffee at 15. I love T2 ‘Very Berry’, Pukka ‘Three Ginger’ and Ttotaler ‘French Earl Grey’ [9]. ENTERTAINING – AT HOME – AND RESTAURANT OF CHOICE? I love dinner parties and enjoy nothing more than bringing friends together around my big kitchen table and sharing a meal. Berta – the vegetable Sagra dinners are my favourite [10]. PREFERRED TIPPLE? Aperol Spritz [11] for summer afternoons. Scotch on the rocks for a quiet after-dinner reflection. My partner Sam’s margarita to inject some fun. FILMS THAT HAVE INSPIRED YOU? Oscar and Lucinda, The Piano, 8½, La Dolce Vita [12], La Grande Bellezza, Le Conseguenze Dell’amore. SHOPS AND ONLINE STORES YOU FREQUENT? Farfetch for fashion, Abebooks and Strand Bookstore for great secondhand book finds. MAGAZINES YOU READ REGULARLY? Vogue, 10, Love Want, Belle. TRAVEL – FAVOURITE REGULAR HAUNT AND WHERE IS ON YOUR MUST-SEE LIST? Anywhere in Australian nature without phones. I would love to go to Mexico, Central and South America [13]. OBJECTS OF DESIRE YOU WOULD BUY RIGHT NOW? A new AnnaWili Highfield sculpture. She is having a show at Olsen Gruin in New York and I have had a sneak peak and love them. WHAT ARE YOU WORKING ON NOW? My Resort 19 collection which will show at Australian Fashion Week in May. biancaspender.com.au