A dazzling decade: A look back at Geoffrey Edelsten’s most memorable looks

Geoffrey Edelsten started with a “pink” helicopter, flashy cars and clinics with chandeliers and then dazzled in shiny outfits in all colours of the rainbow.

At the 2010 Melbourne Cup, Edelsten and second wife Brynne Gordon wore outfits startlingly similar to what he would wear with Gabi Grecko half a decade later.

It started with a pink helicopter back in 1981 when a little-known, multi-millionaire medical entrepreneur called Geoffrey Edelsten burst onto the scene in living colour.

Apart from the infamous chopper, he had a glamorous wife, a fleet of flashy coloured cars and a flamboyance unusual for men 40 years ago.

He owned mansions, ran medical clinics fitted with chandeliers, a grand piano and mink-lined consulting rooms and owned Lamborghini Aventadors and a Rolls Royce with rego plates such as Spunky and Macho.

Back then he had white hair and, after a short career as a music producer, became the first private owner of an Australian football team, when he bought the Sydney Swans in 1985.

In between, there was a scandal involving a hit man, a year’s stint in jail, deregistration in NSW over surgery practices and overservicing, and a divorce from his first wife.

Dr Geoffrey and Leanne Edelsten with their transport fleet, Sydney, 1986. Picture: Rob Walls

Edelsten with his “pink” helicopter (which was really blue and white).

Geoffrey Edelsten kisses wife Leanne in 1986.

Edelsten with members of the Sydney Swans after buying the Australian team in 1985.

Australian medical entrepreneur and first private owner of the Sydney Swans AFL team with wife Leanne in 1988. Picture: Getty Images

By the time Dr Edelsten had returned to prominence and become a fixture in gossip columns a decade ago, his hair had turned to chestnut, and then an inky black.

His own outfits began to reflect the dazzle of the increasingly skimpily clothed, glamorous women on his arm, with Dr Edelsten turning out in shiny ensembles in pink, blue, yellow, red, green, gold and silver.

Today, the entertainment and sporting world is in mourning following the shock news the 78-year-old was found dead in his luxury St Kilda Road high-rise on Friday afternoon.

The death of the diminutive, polite doctor should include an acknowledgment of the fact he revolutionised 24 hour medical treatment, and was an early sports promoter.

Edelsten’s hair turned chestnut.

And later inky black. Picture: Kristian Dowling/Getty Images

Then he met a girl called Brynne Gordon and took her to the Million Dollar Lunch at Crown Casino in 2009.

The outfits got more daring (above), with Brynne and Geoffrey pictured at the 151st Melbourne Cup in 2011. Picture: Joe Castro

The doctor, above with Brynne and one of their Ferraris on Valentine's Day, still loved cars.

Brynne and Geoffrey Edelsten starred in My Bedazzled Life on Channel 7, along with a yellow luxury car to match his shirt.

Dr Edelsten’s colourful life

But, back to the beginning, when he was still practising medicine in all states and married to Leanne Nesbitt.

Then aged in his thirties, the doctor often posed with his attractive wife and their cars and helicopter which, unusually back in those days, he used for transport from state to state.

Back then, Edelsten wore velvet jackets, white tuxedos and occasional bright colours, but the glitter was mostly left to Leanne.

Brynne and Geoffrey on Oaks Day at Flemington in one of his flashier suits, not long before the end of their marriage.

There’s a new girl on the scene, Gabi Grecko, pictured with Blake Garvey and Geoffrey Edelsten in the TV series Celebrity Apprentice.

Geoffrey Edelsten and Gabi Grecko at the Clipsal Penthouse Party in 2015. Picture: Roy VanDerVegt

Gabi Grecko and Geoffrey, dressed down, but still in his favourite yellow, at the Clipsal 500. Picture: Andrew Beveridge

Another Gabi Grecko and Geoffrey Edelsten selfie. Picture: Instagram

After his trouble with the law and the NSW medical board, he re-emerged in 2009 in the company of a new woman.

Brynne Gordon, 25, was a fitness instructor from California and the pair made their debut at Melbourne’s Magic Millions lunch at Melbourne’s Crown Casino.

They married there a few months later before 500 guests including Margot Robbie, Jason Alexander, Fran Drescher and a who’s who of Australian society and sports stars.

At the reportedly $3 million wedding, the bride arrived by helicopter and the happy couple left in a Bentley and were entertained by circus performers and high profile singers.

The marriage lasted until January 2014, by which time Brynne and Geoffrey had made many appearances at high profile events, and he has developed a flashy personal style under her influence.

Geoffrey Edelsten and Gabi Grecko after their low-key Melbourne wedding. Picture: Nathan Dyer

Edelsten is seen filming Celebrity Apprentice at Martin Place in Sydney in 2015. Picture: Mick Tsikas

Geoffrey Edelsten took his new wife Gabi Grecko to meet his mother at a rest home in Melbourne in 2015. Picture: INFphoto.com

Brynne wore it first, with Edelsten at the 2010 Melbourne Cup.

Gabi Grecko wore it next, with Edelsten at the 2014 Melbourne Cup. Picture: Bradley Hunter

Gabi Grecko and Geoffrey Edelsten search on the floor for her engagement ring after dropping it in the Birdcage on Melbourne Cup Day at Flemington Picture: Julian Smith

In June 2014, Edelsten stepped out in public with Gabi Grecko, a New York model 46 years his junior, and with an even more revealing style than Brynne Edelsten.

He proposed to her at Flemington, after which she famously lost her engagement ring and the doctor had to get down on his hands and knees to find it.

Gabi Grecko became Mrs Edelsten number three when she and the doctor tied the knot in an “intimate” Las Vegas-themed wedding in Melbourne in June 2015.

Also known as rapper GLitta FoXX, Grecko had an on-again, off-again marriage with Edelsten, but they appeared together at many race meetings and functions, and dressed in provocative, matching ensembles for Instagram selfies.

Yep, it’s the yellow outfit yet again, Edelsten out at the Meatball and Wine Bar opening with Suzi Taylor. Picture: Julie Kiriacoudis

Flashback to 2010 Oaks Day, Geoffrey in green lame and Brynne as a mermaid.

The gold suit from 2010 with Brynne was another iconic moment.

Edelsten was also a fan of lime green.

Despite failing to re-register as a doctor in NSW, Geoffrey Edelsten continued to practise in other states and ran “superclinics”, selling his Allied Medical Group for up to $200 million in 2011.

In 2014, he filed for bankruptcy in the US, which he said was just an investment strategy.

Originally published as A dazzling decade: A look back at Geoffrey Edelsten’s most memorable looks