In the feature – published the day after what would have been Carla’s 79th birthday – the beloved queen of Australian fashion shut down any question of retirement. “My customers keep saying, ‘You can’t retire!’ And anyway, I love it!” Zampatti told The Weekly’s editor-at-large, Juliet Rieden.RELATED: ‘Reigning monarch’ of fashion farewelledRieden had been sitting two seats from Zampatti the night she fell down a set of stairs at the opening of opera La Traviata at Mrs Macquarie’s Point.She said the trailblazing business woman’s last words to her on the night were: “I can’t wait to see our story in the magazine this month.”The piece focuses on her love of motherhood and the challenges of single parenting in her 20s as she worked to get her label off the ground.The accompanying photo shoot, done at Zampatti’s Sydney home, features her two daughters, Bianca and Allegra Spender, and five of her nine grandchildren.RELATED: Zampatti’s daughter ‘totally heartbroken’Zampatti had said of her parenting style and instilling a strong work ethic in her son Alex Schuman and daughters Bianca and Allegra Spender: “They were serving tea and running messages and filing from the age of seven or eight, simply because I couldn’t take them on holidays and the nanny used to get sick of them at home, so I’d take them to the office. “They learned a lot.”Born in Levoro, Italy, Zampatti emigrated to Australia as a child. A proud feminist, she recalled always wanting to be a working mother.“I distinctly remember thinking, ‘When I grow up, I not only want to be a mother, but I also want to have some kind of business. I want to be working. I want my own identity.’ That’s where feminism started creeping in for me,” she told the publication.Last week, hordes of people, including celebrities and fashion industry elites, descended on St Mary’s Cathedral in Sydney to farewell the legendary style icon.The 78-year-old died after a week-long hospitalisation. It’s believed she was in a coma after her fall at the opera and never woke up.“That a nine-year-old could arrive from Italy with little English and no education could rise to great heights in a new country,” Archbishop Fisher said in a nod to Ms Zampatti’s innovative efforts in the fashion industry.He explained she had started making her own clothes at the age of 12, and then spent decades exploring her creativity through fashion.“The single mother courageously built her own fashion house from scratch,” he said.“Carla’s determination, even defiance, in a world where women were presumed to be the weaker sex.”Her daughter Bianca, who is also a fashion designer, said her mother was warm, affectionate and “loved a hug”.“Her favourite thing on the weekend was to swim and have her family around her,” she said.“She offered you champagne and croissants at any time of day, with Nutella for the grandchildren, presenting everything on a perfect white cloth.”Allegra Spender went on to tell the masses how seeing another woman succeed brought her mother joy.“We will miss her warm presence, her perspective, her sense of fun, her love and care of us and the joy she took from the world,” she said.“We are very proud of you mum. We are committed to continuing your legacy of inspiring, empowering and supporting women.”In 1980, Ms Zampatti was named Australian Businesswoman of the Year.Then in 2008, she was handed the Australian Fashion Laureate Award – the highest honour in Australia’s fashion industry.While she didn’t mention him by name in The Weekly interview, Zampatti, who had been married twice, found love in the last two years of her life with Sydney doctor Ken Howison. She had told Rieden she was very happy in the relationship.You can read the full interview with Carla Zampatti in the Australian Women’s Weekly How to find news on news.com.au
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