Attending a Gary Bigeni runway show is as invigorating as watching the designer popping and locking at one his regular dance classes in Sydney’s inner west. In a matter of minutes you break out into a sympathy sweat, witnessing a blur of psychedelic colour, absorbing years of technical training and discover that you’re smiling from ear to ear.
Even if your usual uniform is a navy suit, you might exit the runway experience contemplating a hand-painted cotton dress or sharply tailored blazer in colours that the Paddle Pop Lion would envy.
Bigeni’s contagious and colourful approach to creativity remains undimmed by a stage four non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma cancer diagnosis in 2017 and more than 20 years toiling in an industry where the goalposts of success keep moving.
“I put it down to therapy,” says Bigeni, 45. “While I was sick, it was difficult to find a good therapist that I could connect with. Instead, I threw myself straight into designing again.”
After his recovery, Bigeni abandoned seasonal collections with a minimalist edge in favour of size and gender inclusive pieces that reflected his own eclectic aesthetic.
Having pushed the kaleidoscopic approach to the limit, he’s finally ready to reclaim his past techniques.
“After my fashion week show last year, I sat back and thought it was time to look at who am I and what I want to do moving forward.”
So after a 14-year hiatus, Bigeni has returned to draping fabric, the cornerstone of his earliest collections. It was the technique that made Bigeni a designer to watch at his first runway show in 2003, catching the eye of legendary retailer Belinda Seper who ordered his first collection for her Sydney store The Corner Shop.
“I don’t know why I left it behind, but I’m bringing it back,” Bigeni says. “I don’t want to hold back any more. I want to use all the tools I have for women.
“Combining what I started doing in the beginning with what people most recognise my work for now feels like coming full circle.”
The latest collection, called Enduring, is a tribute to women, from his Maltese mother Jane, to longtime friends Anna Plunkett from Romance Was Born and designer Gail Sorronda and models Abigail O’Neill and Rachel Waller.
“The collection’s drapes are based around the strength of any female going through birth, depression, cancer and loss.”
It sounds heavier than it looks, but for Bigeni fashion is the key to facing issues rather than ignoring them.
“I bring fashion to my dancing and running programs for queer kids or people with neurodiversity and autism. I can’t imagine doing anything else.”
Bigeni is hopeful that by confronting his past, his future might include global stockists, but that’s not where his goalposts of success are currently fixed.
“It’s really about doing things that make you happy and that you love. I guess that’s with everyone and everything in life.”
Day four highlights at Australian Fashion Week
Iordanes Spyridon Gogos
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Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: www.smh.com.au
