Carla, Allegra and me: Bianca Spender on fashion, family, and finding space

After years working in the shadow of her fashion icon mother, Carla Zampatti, and with sister Allegra making waves in Canberra, Bianca Spender is finally seeing her own vision take shape – and learning that success sometimes means stepping back.

This story features in Issue 23 – out now. Tap here to secure your copy. 

When Allegra and Bianca Spender shared a bedroom growing up, the extrovert, perfectionist Bianca felt the need to put masking tape down the middle of the room to protect her side, and especially her clothes, from the chaos of her quieter, more contemplative little sister.

“I was messy, and she was tidy, and it was exhausting,” recalls Allegra. “I would drive her crazy because I’d borrow her clothes and then just not look after them with the care they deserved.”

You can imagine how things went when, 20 years later, Allegra parachuted into the family business, Carla Zampatti Pty Ltd, as CEO, the nominal boss of both her big sister and their fashion-industry legend mother, Carla.

“Family business is not for the faint-hearted,” says Allegra.

When Allegra left Carla Zampatti in 2017 to pursue politics, Bianca left soon after to run her eponymous label as her own company.