Curiosity and creative expression are at the heart of Bianca Spender's designs. Deeply influenced by culture, ideation and the natural world, there is a rawness that is imbued within each artfully draped piece.

The Spring Summer collection sought to capture the essence of softness, looking for a moment of respite in a world full of tensions. Drawn to the deeply transformable nature of Indivi Sutton’s pigment on linen works, a creative endeavour was a blaze. 

Here, we speak with Contemporary Artist, Indivi Sutton to unfold the deeply felt process behind her work.

“My paintings are of raw linen and pigment powders, where the pigment imbibes the raw linen allowing the colour its own expression. Once I begin, the pigment really navigates the amount of time spent, layering, and pausing. Each pigment is sourced from a unique origin just as the hue of the raw linen is determined by the amount of sun and rain the crops get that specific year at the harvest. As my materials are so much of the earth, they become an expression of the work.

My process is one of deep contemplation of the inner language that speaks without words and needs no definition. The idea is that our experiences and emotions are not felt as isolated events but rather frequencies of the invisible that defy time, or a measure of past and future, bringing us to a place of one. Each painting is an incantation to a pilgrimage; thus, the truth becomes the self-evident condition of the collective soul, drawing strength and inspiration from the memory of beauty and its power.”

“Seven years ago, when I moved from New York to Sydney, I found myself in search of a dress for my graduation. Amid the myriad of options, it was the sight of a breathtaking oyster gown by Bianca Spender that left me speechless, my heart skipping a beat. From that moment on, I fell head over heels for the beauty and essence of her work, and the unmistakable passion and soul that resonates in every collection. I suppose the best way to describe the way our collaboration came about was kismet and of the right time in the true sense of the meaning. 

Before my first solo exhibition 'At This Moment' I wrote a letter to Bianca sharing how I connect with the essence of her design philosophy and view to femininity and creativity. I approached Bianca to pose a meeting to converse with another woman who I felt would be a great inspiration. 

The nature of this whole collaboration has been nothing but what can be described as organic. Three years later, Bianca and her team reached out to include me on their journal and the idea of a small collaboration. When her team mentioned the idea to Bianca, Bianca tells it with great energised motions and excitement as she shared how she ran over to her desk only to have saved my letter and put it away for the right time in the future.

The first time I sat down with Bianca, our energy was aligned, especially for the way we processed creatively through the way we looked at the natural world and the language of colour. The only way to describe the first conversion was magical. From there we discussed collaborating on one print, which then turned into two and as a part of Australian Fashion Week for her FIFTEEN Spring Summer collection. Expressing a single favourite aspect of working with Bianca proves challenging, as the entire experience was nothing short of extraordinary. 

“The fluidity of the Bianca Spender brand speaks its own language of an individual spirit. The clothes come alive once draped on the body. The way the pieces feel and move against my skin feel completely natural. Wearing something from Bianca is an expression of who I am as a woman, and I appreciate how the brand like a beautiful piece of music transports me into being the energy I connect to the world through.”

“Together two prints were created. Two tones that were ones of the heart and soul. The yellow and blue dynamic forces are internal to our experience of the world. The first is the yellow which is grounding as Bianca has described. The tone captures the earth and illuminates as the sun does, its presence holding in our heart. 

Bianca then wanted to do a second print after a conversation, we both seemed to feel still at blue. She asked me to capture the deepest elements of the sky. The print subconsciously draws you into its expansiveness to illuminate the state of being. It is as if we were to dive into the indigo blue to cultivate a deeper understanding of humanity, and to access insights that are beyond the limitations of our rational mind. 

These two prints work together holding the deepest experiences of our beings, heart, and soul. As the sun belongs in our hearts and we let the blue of the sky fold around us.  It is a reminder that we are not separate from the world around us, but rather, we are an integral thread woven into the very fabric of existence.”

“Seeing FIFTEEN brought into the light at Australian Fashion Week was as if I was in a dream. The moment my eyes fell on the yellow and taupe top and pants, I imagined wearing it to the opening of my solo show in New York this October. There was something about the blue collaboration dress that I can’t stop thinking about. I also loved the one-shoulder check blue top with its matching pants that I was dressed in for this shoot. I know the blue collaboration skirt will become a well-loved piece in my wardrobe.”