An independent woman
Bianca Spender never expected a career in fashion, which is surprising, given she is the daughter of Carla Zampatti. Here, she writes about her recent decision to make her eponymous label independent after more than a decade under the umbrella of her moth
Draping fabric is like a form of meditation for me. I am completely absorbed in my own world, and gain enormous satisfaction from the practice of this art.
Yet I never thought I would work in fashion. Neither of my parents particularly encouraged me to follow this path, so the journey toward owning my namesake fashion business has been a gradual one.
I grew up in the shadow of a larger-than-life mother, who was passionate about her success, and passionate about teaching her children to understand the value of money, hard work and independence. My father, on the other hand, was an intellectual, a diplomat and a quiet, considerate thinker from a privileged family. He knew well the blessing and burden of a high-profile family.
Independence has always been a defining trait of my family. My story of independence started when I was nine and we moved to a new family home. It was decided that we were old enough to not have a nanny and it was time to contribute to the family. I learnt to make my lunches, iron my uniform and cook dinner.
Our school holidays were about working in Mum’s office. I learnt very quickly how unglamorous the fashion industry was. Being in my mother’s realm gave us a strong connection to her work, what she was to other people and why she was not home a lot. I loved being useful, and felt proud to be working in an adult’s world.
It is interesting thinking about this, as my sons love coming into my office every holiday. They want me to give them jobs, not just come and observe, they want to be part of it and understand how it all works. I am touched that I have been able to share my work with my children and inspire them.
It has been a natural instinct for all of Mum’s three children to want to help her at work. We have all been part of the business for the past 15 years in different ways.
Mum approached me in 2003 to come home from Paris and work with her. She asked me to design a capsule collection with strict criteria. If it sold well, I stayed and if it did not I would leave. Half of it sold really well and half of it didn’t, but we could see that there was potential.
A few seasons later, we came to the decision that she would back me to start my own label. The customers had started asking which pieces were the Bianca pieces, because they could see there was a distinct difference and style.
Perhaps this has been the hardest part of the working relationship, learning to trust in the differences. I wanted to make my own mark, independent of her aesthetic, but complementary. I had always had my own sense of style, but I questioned my talent, and did not want to be compared to my mum, who was such a high achiever.
It was a journey for me to find myself in fashion. I realised that Mum saw me in my own light a few years ago, at Australian fashion week. My show had just finished and she came rushing out the back and hugged me, tightly, and she had tears in her eyes. She whispered: “I’m so proud.” I knew that she saw that I was making my own statement, my own way, and she loved it.
Ultimately, it was always about standing on my own two feet. From the beginning we had talked about the complexity of working in a family business. We agreed that I had the right to separate my company at any time.
Just as she always wanted to own her own business, I feel that this is the strongest way to honour her. I too am a working mother, and I try my best to balance my love for my family with my love for what I do. Even after 50 years in business, Mum is still determined to reach new targets, and I am looking forward to reaching some of the goals I have set for myself now!
I appreciate the benefits of the infrastructure that my mother has built and this aligns with my own views of keeping a strong fashion industry based here in Australia. My partner is an environmentalist, and we believe in supporting local businesses, local workforces, in reducing our carbon footprint, in being efficient with fashion production. Carla Zampatti Ltd designs and manufactures in Sydney, and I have been glad to support and utilise this.
For more than 10 years Carla and I have had a mutually supportive business relationship. I still worked across a number of aspects of her business, and she ensured that Bianca Spender could grow into a financially independent company.
The idea of being an autonomous has been in my head for a long time. Separating the company was a very natural thing when my sister, who had been the managing director for eight years, left to pursue her own goals. My sister and I had been working very closely building the Bianca Spender brand. When she was leaving we were looking at how to restructure the business and Mum and I agreed that the time had come for me to own full financial and creative responsibility for my label.
Throughout 2017, Mum and I were quietly working through the details of separating our businesses, and I felt growing excitement, not only about my upcoming independence, but also I began to see that we would be able to enjoy a new phase in our relationship. We were mother and daughter again, and that came first.
The next stage in this journey was setting up an independent studio. When I thought about a new workroom space, I wanted it to be full of light, to be close to nature, somewhere where I had space to breathe, to cover my walls in inspiration, turn the music up if I felt like it, but also homely enough that my kids could come and hang out and feel like it was a warm nurturing environment.
I chose a terrace in Rushcutters Bay. It overlooks the water, has the most overladen frangipani tree right out the front, gets lots of sunshine and salty air, and has plenty of room for me and my team.
It has definitely taken some adjustment to not have my production in the same building any more, but my new sense of freedom more than makes up for that.
Right now I am in the middle of designing my next collection, and already I can see that my aesthetic is evolving. There has been a shift, a lightness, an element of surprise to the pieces, and it is very motivating. I have brought on some new people to collaborate with, but retained my core team, and I feel very inspired by the dynamic.
I am looking at toward the future. The feeling of doing it yourself, of being responsible for your own destiny is wonderful. I have always felt the burden of coming from a privileged family background. I am aware that I have opportunities that many others don’t have, and it is very important to me to respect and earn those opportunities.
This move has given me enormous confidence. I am finding my own balance my own voice really being in touch with my instinct. My ultimate goal is to have a sustainable business: a business that maintains and prolongs my love of planet Earth, my love of design, and of our family’s love of fashion. A business that keeps up its strength and vitality. A business that provides support and sustenance to itself and to the broader community. A business that sustains me.
“THE FEELING, OF BEING RESPONSIBLE FOR YOUR OWN DESTINY IS WONDERFUL”