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.

Gay News, Dame Marie and Deviants

She has been one of the most loved reps of Her Maj : Dame Marie Bashir the retiring Governor of NSW.  Last night it was time to honour the Governor herself at Parliament House at a dinner organised by the Gay & Lesbian community- the LGBTI Community Tribute Dinner for ( we love her full title) Her Excellency Dame Marie Bashir AO CVO.
Pictured right is Adrian Bartels and a pal with Dame Marie. Bartels was just pipped at the post at the last state election by current MP  Alex Greenwich. also openly gay.
Aren't we lucky in the Eastern Suburbs ?. A choice between the very David Beckham style Bartels or our favourite descendent of Russian Nobility Alex !

## also pleasing to see Sydney Councillor Christine Foster ( PM Tony Abbott's sister ) at the St Vincent de Paul sleep out in Redern  helping to raise awareness for homelessness.

Dame Marie was described by the LGBTI as a "powerful advocate for the powerless" and this has been evident on so many occasions as evidenced by our exclusive pic taken at the mansion Boomerang at a fundraiser for the Wayside Chapel in Kings Cross. Marie was only too happy to chat to former Guantanamo Bay inmate David Hicks (left).

Dramas in the world of Opera as a twitter outrage grows over Georgian soprano Tamar Iveri, scheduled to sing Desdemona in Otello for Opera Australia in July and Tosca later this year in Melbourne
Iveri has been condemned for an open letter she wrote to the Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili in May last year. In the lengthy diatribe, posted on her Facebook page, she describes LGBT people as “deviants” and suggests that homosexuality is part of the “faecal mass” being foisted on Georgia by the West.
Iveri was commenting after LGBT activists marched to mark International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia (IDAHO) in the city of Tbilisi. The marchers were attacked by thousands of fundamentalist Christians (?) with some barely escaping with their lives. The loopy soprano said she was “proud of the fact how Georgian society spat at the parade” and that  “often, in certain cases, it is necessary to break jaws in order to be appreciated as a nation”. Charming! She really is coming to the wrong town. Somehow I think Ms Iveri's visit may be cut short.
Below is a video from the march-what a contrast to the Sydney Gay & Lesbian Mardi Gras !