March 15, 2026 — 5:00am
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Each week, we quiz a prominent person about their style and the inspiration behind it. Ahead, TV presenter and journalist Virginia Trioli.
Virginia Trioli is on a “buy nothing new” year, but has a knack for finding vintage treasures.Jess Gleeson
How would you describe your style? A Studio 54 wannabe via a 1980s Melbourne dance club.
What’s the oldest thing in your wardrobe? A little black Carla Zampatti dress from the 1980s.
And the most recent addition? A vintage Sonia Rykiel “Domino” bag I found on Vestiaire Collective.
What would you wear … on a first date? A black Beare Park column dress with black silk Manolo Blahnik heels. … on a plane? I learnt a lesson when my bags didn’t show up and I had to film in my plane clothes. Now, I dress to arrive in a good shirt, Uniqlo jeans, a blazer and Michael Kors wedge sneakers. … on the red carpet? I’m lucky to own pieces by one of Australia’s great designers, Martin Grant.
What’s your favourite fashion era? The 1970s. Designers such as Yves Saint Laurent, Halston and Vivienne Westwood all knew their way around a jacket and a waistline, they understood a trouser suit and how to make a gown. Also, the most fabulous jeans are all ’70s-inspired.
Who is your favourite designer? Dries Van Noten. I’ve collected many of his beautifully embellished, madly clashing pieces over the decades and recently found the matching shirt for a skirt I’ve owned since 2003. I love the idea of these two pieces, in different parts of the world, yearning for each other and being brought together by this new way of buying and selling [on resale websites].
What’s your fragrance of choice? I’ve worn Chanel “No 19” since my husband bought me a bottle in 1995.
What are three essential items in your wardrobe? A tan, perforated leather shift dress by Hugo Boss, a black Yohji Yamamoto skirt and a long, pale-blue Zimmermann dress.
Any go-to jewellery? An Alémais “Bumble Bee” necklace – I love insect jewellery. I also collect Henkel & Grosse costume jewellery, particularly pieces they made for Christian Dior from the 1950s to the 1980s.
Trioli in a 1990s vintage Comme des Garçons dress and shrug at the 2025 NGV Gala. Getty Images
Can you remember a favourite outfit you wore as a child? When I was 11 it was a funnel-necked tunic top with matching wide-leg trousers in orange cord. It was the wildest outfit. I bloody loved it.
What was your first fashion moment? When I was a child, our neighbour would pass Women’s Weekly magazines on to my mum. The first thing I’d turn to was a section on what people like Jackie Kennedy Onassis and Liz Taylor were wearing overseas. I read it religiously. It brought the world of international fashion into my home in Nunawading, Victoria.
And your worst fashion mistake? All the grey, miserable, oversized men’s shirts I wore through my 20s.
What’s on your wish list? It’s my year of buying nothing new but, if I were allowed, I’d get a Toni Maticevski “Barrier” dress and one of his tattoo-embroidered mesh tops to wear under it.
Is there something you’d never wear? One of those ankle-length, long-sleeved, belted shirt dresses that make women look like they were styled by Lydia from The Handmaid’s Tale.
Is there a current trend you like? I’m happy to see Tory Burch bring back the pencil skirt with a shirt-and-knit look. That’s been a staple of mine for years.
What shoes do you wear most often? The greatest shoe ever made, the Nike “Lunar Sandiator”: a leather, wedge-heeled Roman sandal released in 2015. I buy every pair I can find on eBay, and hopefully have enough to see me out.
Who’s your favourite fashion icon? Fashion editor and Swarovski creative director Giovanna Engelbert. She has exquisite taste, an incredible wardrobe and just enough Italian excess.
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What do you wear on a typical working day? Trousers, shirts and jackets from Scanlan Theodore, or Perri Cutten with a heel, never flats.
What’s your favourite off-duty, casual Sunday look? Cream Rag & Bone jeans and my vintage Divinyls T-shirt.
Season three of Creative Types with Virginia Trioli is on ABC TV and iview.
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