The Perspectives speaking series looks to depict the very personal perspectives of creatives. For this quarterly instalment of 'Perspectives,' Bianca Spender joined Saskia Havekes of Grandiflora and Barabirang Projects Founder, Jayne Christian, speaking to her interpretation of the idea of spirit.
Continue reading to discover Bianca's take on spirit and how spirit has touched the ELLIPSE collection.
“Spirit is a sense, a particular way of feeling. It gives way to a particular way of thinking, behaving.
It is something that is often indescribable, ephemeral. It moves in us. Something we feel at the core of our existence, influencing how we move in the world.
Looking at the way that spirit influences my world, I see it in two dimensions with very different energies. The first dimension of spirit is atmospheric. It is a presence. It is something that comes into your world and talks to you.
It may have always been there, and yet, it never caught your eye. Now that you have discovered it you find it everywhere. You are drawn it. You feel and see it all around you.
You delve into the details you immerse yourself in it. It directs you to a particular form and a particular energy creates that presence."
Photograph by Hiroshi Sugimoto
"My last collection was one inspired by this presence. Thinking about the world and how we are all moving through it there is a sense of disquiet, discord and disconnect.
Asking myself how fashion could move in this space to support and hold people, I was drawn to the universal form of connection – the circle.
There has always been something about the circle that influences how we feel: conversations around a circular table, the way that your eye travels around, the curve of the horizon, the sun, the moon.
The circle is at the core of nature."
"The second dimension of spirit is dynamic. It is unexpected. It is a compulsion, a force. It stirs up inside you and compels you to move differently through the world: to turn things upside down, inside out, to challenge things, to shift your gaze and to find a new perspective.
This was the second stage of my recent collection. I had found the form now I needed to disrupt it, to reform the circle in the way that was right for now. To cut into the circle, juxtapose the draping with tailoring, the structure with collapse, the femininity with masculinity and to play with fabric, texture, colour and form.
You can find yourself oscillating between these two forces, even embodying them in a singular piece of work. This dynamic spirit pulls us and pushes us to find new ideas."
Photograph by Hiroshi Sugimoto
"In recent years the creative spirit of my work has shifted subconsciously. Previously I had a narrative based approach, representing ideas of dance, art, nature, exhibitions and experiences.
At the heart of those collections was a form that was created from a visual aesthetic- Ballet leant to full skirts, leotards, sheer panels, structured tops and fluid hems. Victorian era was a discovery of high necks, velvet tucks, puff sleeves, nipped in waists. Fibonacci sequence introduced spirals, undulating curves, ridges, waves, edges.
After my mother passed my work shifted from representing a narrative to looking to an capture an energy. The work expresses a state not an idea. It imbues a spirit. The clothes are a response to the current environment. The collections are designed to provoke a kinetic response first and an aesthetic response second.
This was a fundamental shift from the prior collections to embody spirit. The collections represent energy.
And now, we come back to the circle, looking to a sense of unity, connection and harmony, Transporting me through the design journey with the spirit of movement.”
- Bianca Spender, Founder and Creative Director
Bianca wears the Tan Suiting Tondo Coat, Tondo Pant and the Black Satin Sync Top (coming soon).
Our thanks to the team at Perspectives for enabling these conversations and to Yirranma Place for hosting the evening.