Famous Australian designer Alex Perry opened up about his life, with a focus on his Greek heritage and how his family values bled into his married life, creating an ever evolving and successful dynamic between him and his wife.

Perry opened up to the Sydney Morning Herald about all the things that make him who he is and how much he owes to the strong and unapologetic women in his family.

Whenever Perry creates one of his stunning gowns he has in mind this deep knowing of how different women wish to express themselves and how they might like to be perceived based on the outfit statements they make. A great inspiration has been his maternal grandmother, Vasiliki, who was always beautifully dressed and had fashion coats and dresses custom-made.

“She always talked about Greece and would tell tall stories about how she swam from her tiny island to Turkey,” Perry told the newspaper, highlighting that he started noticing the style the woman in his life had at age seven. Feeling proud of his Hellenic roots he honoured the memory of his mum Poppy who passed away last year.

“She was pragmatic and honest; I get my work ethic from my parents. She wasn’t the type of mother to blow sunshine up you. If she saw me sketching something she didn’t like, she would tell me. She was my best critic,” he said, praising her good sense of humour and love for classic films.

His mum, being a hard-worker taught herself how to type in her late ’60s, got a job as a receptionist, then worked her way up to become a PA to the general manager of Deloitte. This mentality helped him grow into the goal driven creative and family man he is. His female ancestors, however, were not the only examples he drew from.

From remembering his first ever kiss with a girl in college, while surrounded by different styles of women he talked about the first time he met his wife, Mary.

Instantly drawn to her, a Greek girl from Greece only visiting Australia for her brother’s wedding. Mary, also a fashion designer, stood out, unapologetically being herself and having her own sense of style. “I was mesmerised by her,” he said.

The couple started dating a few months later and Mary came to Australia. They married soon after. Perry was 24. The two grew up together, building their empire from scratch, inspiring and picking up each other when things got rough.

“Mary and I don’t have children, but at the time we weren’t in a financial position to go down that road. We also didn’t follow any preconceived rules or guidelines about what happens after you marry. If we’d needed to do it, we would have, but we didn’t,” Perry said, continuing to give his life partner even more credit for his success.

“The differences between Mary and me are what makes our relationship work. She is methodical and likes to plan, I make decisions in an instant and go with my gut. Mary worked as a medical receptionist to financially support me. If she wasn’t the rock, my business wouldn’t have got off the ground.”

Read the full interview at The Sydney Morning Herald