The last time Bianca Spender showed at Australian Fashion Week was 2018: before the pandemic, before her mother, the late Carla Zampatti, died, and before her sister, philanthropist and business leader Allegra Spender, set her sights on federal parliament.

This year, Ms Spender will be opening the week at a gallery named for her mother at Sydney’s Carriageworks. It will be, she says, a moment of reflection and celebration.