‘You need a haircut’: Bianca and Allegra Spender’s blunt love | Nicole Abadee
Recently elected federal “teal” MP Allegra Spender, 44, and her sister, fashion designer Bianca Spender, 45, are close, but working together in the family business founded by their mother, Carla Zampatti, tested their bond.
Working together in the family business [from 2008 to 2016, Allegra was managing director of Carla Zampatti Pty Ltd, which included Bianca’s label, Bianca Spender] was challenging. Inevitably, we disagreed sometimes about what the collection should look like, what would sell. We hired a business counsellor to help us learn to work together more effectively. I learned to value – and not crush – her creative spirit, and she learned to value my business expertise.
When Mum died last year, it was an intense time, but the three of us, Alex [Carla’s son from her first marriage], Bianca and I supported each other through it. We kept calling each other, checking in to see how we were feeling. Grief is non-linear; things change from day to day.Bianca has always been supportive. During this year’s federal election campaign [when Allegra ran for, and won, the Sydney electorate of Wentworth], she came to events no matter how busy she was.
I enjoyed playing the maternal role: ironing Allegra’s clothes or buying food she liked. When I was three, we would go to the park and people would say, “Isn’t she adorable?” and I’d say, “She’s my daughter, you know.” One day, as a teenager, Allegra turned to me and said, “I don’t need two mothers. I already have one.”