Vale Carla

Born in 1942 in the small Italian village of Lovero, Aussie fashion design supremo Carla Zampatti has passed away after succumbing to injuries from a fall at the Opera in the Botanical Gardens just days ago. Zampatti's decades of timeless, elegant fashion has been much loved over the years from well heeled female corporate executives to visiting celebrities who swore a Zampatti designed outfit was the peak of elegance.

Pictured: Bianca Spender, Carla Zampatti and John Bush

Whispers often encountered Carla at Sydney and Melbourne soirees whether it was the launch of a new small design shop, a charity event, fashion parade or an Art Gallery grand dinner for the late Opera star Luccianno Pavrotti (Zampatti was always at the head table). We'd often see her tootling around Sydney's Eaatern Surburbs in her classic green Rolls Royce Corniche.

Launching her first fashion collection in 1965, success followed success and she opened her first boutique in Surry Hills in 1972. Her fashions have a variety of fans from Princess Mary of Denmark to popster Danii Minouge. Numerous Aussie celebs have featured her designs at some stage including Nicole Kidman. Legendary actress Angela Lansbury once went on shopping spree at Zampatti's Double Bay boutique and Ros Packer is a regular.

Carla's designs are now featured in department store around the country and the world. In 2004 she was awarded the Commander of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic along with Australian honours and in 2005 Carla was featured on a stamp, the ultimate in recognition . Zampatti leaves behind three children, designer Bianca Spender, son Alex Schuman, and Allegra Spender who managers the Zampatti design business. She married politcian John Spender in 1975 and they amicably divorced in 2010.

'Fairy Tale' Wedding

 The magnificent German Faber-Castell Castle above is the location for the wedding today of former Sydney-sider Count Anton Andreas von Faber-Castell and his bride, North Shore girl Kate Stahl.
Anton is the son of the low-key Count Andreas Wilhelm von Faber-Castell and his wife Virginia left.
Andreas runs the Southern Hemisphere operations of the famed German pen & pencil and luxury leather goods maker Faber-Castell
The Faber-Castells are great opera buffs and have hosted numerous soirees at their magnificent Turramurra home on Sydney's North Shore which resembles a grand German mansion with huge rolling lawns surrounded by deep forests. One could be forgiven for thinking they had been transported to Bavaria.
Over 20 Australian guests have been transported to the castle ( Anton's elder brother Anton Wolfgang lives there and runs the European operations) to attend the wedding with over 200 European aristocrats and another former Sydney resident, Princess Mary of Denmark. Anton Andreas and his new Countess will live in Munich.

Royals and Aristos

Chance Lodge

Few guests at photographer Susie Hagon’s book launch last week at the Wagner Gallery knew who the lady in black was although her companion, Hal Salter from Melbourne  in his jaunty red jacket and shoes is a regular sight at racetracks around the country.

Hal Salter & The Duchess of Welbergen

She was the grandly titled Her Grace Stephanie Alesandra Duchess of Welbergen who was visiting from Goornong near Geelong in Victoria where she has recently set up home with her husband David Martin.

Stephanie is a former New York stockbroker born in San Francisco and what a home she has settled in-it’s the imposing mansion with the Roman columns, known as Chance Lodge that comes with a horse stud and until recently, was the home of The Voice, John Farnham

John sold up in 2009 for a reputed $2M and sadly a fire in 2010 gutted the house which the Duchess is now about to set right.

The Voice

As Stephanie recently told the Bendigo Advertiser :“I’m very excited to rise to the challenge,” Stephanie says on renovating and re-decorating the landmark six-bedroom homestead. “It’s going to be absolutely stunning when it’s done, although I know it’s a lot of work.

Stephanie met her first husband while at University in Greece. She eloped with Rudolf Van Welbergen, the duke and married at 19.

Unfortunately the union only lasted 2 years and her mother-in –law frowned on Stephanie because of her ‘commoner’ status. All that is about to change as she and David become Chance Lodge’s master and mistress with no doubt, the grand property becoming the social focal point of the town.

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Mary & Frederick of Denmark at Bondi's Sculpture by The Sea

Zebras by The Sea

One former commoner who has become a great hit is HRH Princess Mary of Denmark. She and husband Prince Frederick attended Bondi’s Sculpture By The Sea today and spent a couple of hours wandering amongst the strange objects, chatting to locals and accepting the odd posy of flowers from little girls.