Australian designer to the stars Alex Perry talks about his 26-year marriage, career success and those damn sunnies

DESIGNER to the stars Alex Perry opens up about his 26-year marriage, his career success and why he refuses to take off those damn sunnies.

Alex Perry

HE turns women into goddesses, celebrities into stars and happens to like wearing sunglasses on his head.

And our fixation on the sunglasses probably says more about us than it does about him. Because fashion designer Alex Perry is so much more interesting than a pair of sunnies.

He's an artist, a character, a visionary, a success, an inspired technician and an incredibly hard worker. But, then again, maybe the sunglasses do say something fundamental about his success.

Perry declares his motto is, "I don't care what you think", and it's that strong sense of identity that sets him apart.

"To be incredibly honest, for a long time I used to lose stuff all the time and I lost so many pairs of sunglasses that I started putting them on my head," Perry explains.

"Then, when someone said, 'Take them off, you idiot', something arced up in me. When someone I don't know, who has nothing to do with me, says that to me I guarantee you, mate, they will stay on until I'm ready to take them off.

"Those people who just sit at home and think about my sunglasses are f-----. I look great in my prestige car and sunglasses and I don't care what you think. That is my motto - I don't care what you think."

Unwelcome comments have been made about Perry since he was a child growing up in Sydney in a Greek migrant family.

If he was at school now, he would probably be counselled as a victim of bullying, but the 50-year-old prefers to call it teasing. He understands the damage caused by bullying, but says that was something different.

"If someone is bullying you, they are intimidating you and it's frightening, which is really terrible," he says. "But someone walking past and calling you a f----- is not bullying. It's just an a--- hole hurling obscenities. That stuff that happens in the playground just makes you stronger. At the end of the day I had a family that loved me. I went home, licked my wounds and I was loved and felt secure."

His family has been the hearth in his life. The success he now enjoys - doing three collections a year in the northern and southern hemispheres and selling to 24 countries including Australia - can be attributed to that upbringing and his 26-year marriage to wife Mary.

Perry says his marriage is the most contented part of his life and balances out the long hours he spends in the studio, his TV commitments and corporate alignments.

To others it may seem challenging to be the wife of Australia's designer to the stars and one of the industry's most critical eyes.

Even Perry admits his eye is always switched on, whether he's in a cafe, an airport or walking down the street. He doesn't miss a thing, always alert to a mistake or an asset.

"Mary recognised that about me a long time ago and just knows that is part of my personality," he says. "She's calmed down a lot and used to worry about everything but I say, 'What is the worst thing that can happen?' Still, I've become a lot more respectful of things that are important to her.

"When you are 24 it's completely different to being 50 and you are going to change. You have to accept change in each other and allow it to happen. She's a lot more gentle than I am. I know she has a mind like a steel trap, but she is the first one to give a compliment. I try to make her be more naughty but it doesn't work."

Married at 24, Perry says they have grown together as their tastes and lives have changed but the essence remains the same.

Sunday is his favourite day of the week because it is spent with Mary watching DVD marathons (recent faves have been Kath and Kim and Game of Thrones), grocery shopping or cooking.

They love trashy TV - their current favourite is Housewives of Atlanta - and are protective of their home space.

"I'm the sous chef so I chop things and clean the counters because Mary is an amazing cook," he says.

"She is also obsessed with Howard's Storage at the moment and I love following her around asking how she can possibly want more storage solutions. But we also love doing the Bowral thing - visiting my family who lives there and laughing when the girl at the checkout counter recognises me and asks why we're not at a party.

"I only go to things that are important for work, like David Jones's spring launch, but our lives are really normal and I love that.

"Everything in my daily life is on a deadline, every dress is super important, but it's really just a dress and it's not like it's life-threatening.

"What happens in the fashion industry is a bit Ab Fab so I have to get away from it when I'm at home."

Perry thinks it's almost acceptable to wear tracksuit pants at home but warns against a growing sloppiness in Australian fashion.

He's scathing of the Onesie trend and says wearing thongs anywhere other than the beach is wrong - and don't get him started on aeroplane attire.

"I might say something I'll regret," he admits, cheekily.

"Mary and I have an apartment in Greece and Mary grew up there. I went to get some bread one day wearing some shorts and a top and she told me to put on a nice pair of pants with a different shirt. People don't do that here. She said, 'You're my husband and it will reflect badly on me'.

"It's the same in Paris and Hong Kong. My God, the first day I left the hotel in Hong Kong I went straight back and changed. They are meticulous in certain ways and, to me, that is a sign of respect for yourself and others.

"It's not about money. If you don't punctuate what you do with care, it shows. If you take your girlfriend or boyfriend out to dinner, wear something nice. If the dress code is black tie, wear a long dress.

"It's also a matter of grooming, which costs nothing. If you've done your nails and pulled your hair back, it doesn't matter as much what the clothing is."

While Perry has a reputation for a sharp tongue, it's rarely his initial response. Unless he encounters an internet troll, then he lets fly.

He has seen first hand what his good friend and fellow Australia's Next Top Model judge Charlotte Dawson has been through at the twittering hands of trolls and vehemently rejects them.

"What a pack of losers," he snaps. "I don't give those people oxygen. They are unhappy, not successful. What, are you sitting in your house at 3am or at your workplace with someone else paying you, throwing out filthy comments because you're jealous?

"I love Instagram because it's so visual but I really think Twitter, as a medium, has diminished and it's just a breeding ground for trolls that haven't achieved anything."

Perry is usually affable and warm. He connects quickly to people, especially women, and he understands them.

He knows they like to look their best, whether that means accentuating their shape to the most flattering advantage, looking younger or just feeling beautiful.

In fact, seeing a woman when she feels beautiful is what still inspires him.

The high-profile celebs and models who regularly wear his gowns are known as "Perry Girls". Big Brother host and an original "Perry Girl", Sonia Kruger knows well the impact of wearing one of his creations.

"He understands intrinsically how to dress women by embracing glamour and has the unique ability to make everything look expensive," Kruger says.

And Kruger isn't alone. Perry really hit the big time in 1995 when he dressed Elle Macpherson for a Vogue cover shoot and is this month celebrating Pink wearing one of his designs on the cover of Marie Claire.

The red carpet favours his sculptural aesthetic but it's also the poise women seem to acquire in a Perry gown that helps them make more impact.

He has been criticised for preferring extremely slender models for his shows and some of his comments on Australia's Next Top Model have been scathing and typically outrageous, but Perry is smart enough to know his audience.

"People get so bent out of shape about body image and weight in Australia," he says. "We're obsessed with it and the finger is pointed at fashion, but you can't watch TV or open a magazine without a weight-loss plan being talked about or someone saying who is fat and who is thin.

"I don't care what size you are but you need to feel beautiful. I have clients that are size 24. I make them feel beautiful because I highlight the good. That is what fashion is about. I've worked with women for 25 years. I get them more than most."

Again, Perry's self-awareness is his strength. He knows what he likes, who he is, and the women he holds as his inspiration are not stick thin.

"I am a classicist," he says. "I love the classical female form like Sophia Loren or Giselle and all those Latina girls who embrace their womanly shape and are happy to show some skin, not too much.

"It's arresting when you see a woman who has dressed like that. There is a real strength in classical femininity.

"I say this often to girls in the workplace. When you go into a meeting and men are there in suits, when you are dressed beautifully in a corporate way with a slight hint of femininity, it's slightly unnerving and that's a good tool.

"Being polished and immaculately groomed intimidates a lot of people. It's not a new thing.

"My grandfather used to say, 'When you leave the house, make sure your shirts are pressed and your shoes are clean. I still couldn't go out of the house without a pressed shirt, clean shoes and a shave."

Experience and success allow Perry to advise on style, taste and even business. He is keen to help the next generation of designers by speaking at Fashion Exposed, a business showcase next week.

His business began in a small shop in 1992 before expanding to be Australia's premier couturier.

He knows his growth has had a lot to do with his own sense of boredom, which is always a signal to change. He is proud he started the strapless bridal gown trend, but doesn't care if he never does one again.

He is relaunching his bridal gown designs to embrace a new direction, maybe even sleeves.

His brand alliances, TV exposure and Perry Girls have also ensured he is more recognised.

"Typically in Australia we are not really focused on fashion compared to Europe, where it's part of the culture, so getting an evening wear brand up and running, getting respect for it and getting people to dress up has had its moments," he says.

"But I've always just stuck to my gut instinct. I've never had a business plan or strategy but when I started I thought it was important to dress people who were well-known, while I was doing custom-made dresses for regular girls. Generally, there is a sense of authenticity if you just listen to your instincts."

Fashion Exposed, Melbourne Exhibition Centre, August 25-27