Alex Perry is, indisputably, the biggest man in Australian fashion right now. He not only runs an amazing label responsible for show stopping gowns that make women into goddesses, he also concurrently appears on two Foxtel series, Project Runway Australia on Arena and Australia’s Next Top Model (ANTM) on Fox8.
All this and he’s a happily married family man… perhaps the most surprising fact about
Alex Perry.
Actually… no. That’s a lie. The most surprising fact about Alex Perry is that he has a genuine nice side, something that has become apparent since Project Runway hit the airwaves.
‘Do you think? I still get some pretty nasty tweets,’ Perry laughed when asked about this nice persona which had never been apparent during ANTM, where he is renowned for deliciously scathing remarks that everybody is thinking, but nobody has the audacity to articulate. Except Perry.
‘But yeah, I do polarise people. I think it’s probably because of that persona on ANTM, and that’s meant to be a little bit harsher, a bit more tongue in cheek, but people don’t read it that way.
‘I think I’m being cheeky but people think I’m just being an arsehole.
‘You can’t have everybody liking you: I think that’s a little vanilla and a little bit boring. But I think Project Runway is truer to myself and what I do and what I’m like in the workroom. I wouldn’t go as far as to say I’m nurturing but I am the voice of reason.’
Next year will mark two decades since Perry opened his first atelier, the creation of a label synonymous with effortless glamour and elegance. Not bad for a Greek boy from suburban Sydney.
And now he’s opened up the persona that is Alex Perry beyond belief with his mentoring role on Project Runway. He’s softened somewhat. Yes, of course a sly backhanded comment is never far from his lips, but at least now the Australian public know he has a heart.
After all, you can’t mentor the future of Australian fashion without one.
‘I think they need to bring a new perspective,’ Perry said when asked about what the winner of Project Runway should encapsulate.
‘A sense of freshness. Of course there is nothing absolutely new: fashion is cyclic. So it’s all about how you reinterpret ideas that have been. So I hope the winner has that: a modern, young aesthetic.’
So how about the winner of ANTM? What should the most gorgeous girls on Australian television be cultivating?
‘It’s simple but it’s not easy to get: these girls just need to be beautiful. But they need to have everything. They need to be tall. They need to have incredible bodies. When they are scrubbed down the features need to be great and they need to photograph easily.’
And Perry should know: he worked as a high profile model agent when he left design school.
But you don’t get to be the biggest name in Australian fashion by doing nothing. Perry is phenomenally busy, making it appear as effortless as one of his gowns makes glamour seem simple.
‘I love what I do. I’ve got a lot on my plate workwise and I think that energy is really inspiring to me. I’ve always got something on the go. I just like to keep it all in the mix. And when you’ve got all that going on you can’t afford to be stale.’
Of course, the latest buzz is around Perry’s six-month paid internship, sponsored through Electrolux and advertised on Foxtel. It’s the chance for a bright young star to learn how to shine in the most fabulous Alex Perry way possible.
‘I want somebody who is incredibly personable, has an incredible work ethic, somebody who isn’t going to wait to be told every single thing that they have to do. A hard worker is the biggest thing.
‘And I don’t like people who drag their feet when they walk.
‘And I have my coffee black, with two sugars.’
The only time Perry hesitates in the entire interview is when he’s asked to describe the quintessential x-factor that goes into an Alex Perry gown. But the hesitation is only for the slightest of seconds.
‘Fit and proportion are the two most important things to me. Especially if I am custom making something: the proportions have to be perfect so she looks taller, thinner and more glamourous than what she does ordinarily. But to be honest I don’t know what it is… I just like things that are really glamourous.’
So… in his opinion, what’s the hottest thing happening in Australian fashion at current?
‘Me. And that’s a true Alex Perry answer.’
Project Runway Australia (season three) airs Mondays at 6.30pm on Arena; 8.30pm on Arena+2. The Project
Runway Australia finale airs Monday 12 September. Australia’s Next Top Model (season seven) airs Mondays at 5.30pm on FOX8; 7.30pm on FOX8+2.
Scott-Patrick Mitchell
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