Zimmermann RTW Spring 2023
Designers staging outdoor events at Paris Fashion Week have been playing cat-and-mouse with rain clouds all week, but the overcast sky did not rain on Zimmermann’s parade.
The Australian label held its debut show in the French capital on Monday in the semi-open courtyard of the Petit Palais museum in front of guests including Michelle Dockery and Melissa George.
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In any case, creative director Nicky Zimmermann had packed plenty of sunshine into her suitcase, with a collection inspired by Sydney’s first coastal amusement park at Tamarama beach, which opened in 1887.
Think “Boardwalk Empire” meets Bondi Beach. The designer melded Victorian touches, like floral illustrations lifted from vintage seed packets, with circus tent stripes and rainbow hues, in a collection that reflected the brand’s resort roots.
Zimmermann had heard about the park, called Wonderland, from her grandmother. A longtime resident of the area, she sourced some of the few remaining black-and-white images confirming its existence.
“I loved the idea of doing what the beach life was then in the early 19th century, versus now,” the designer said. Australian celebrities including Naomi Watts, Rose Byrne and Kylie Minogue painted the scene on the soundtrack.
The collection was peppered with corset tops, paired with dégradé skirts with asymmetric hems, or a frothy lace miniskirt. Cargo pants in a knobbly cream fabric lent a floral patchwork bustier a Y2K vibe.
Whimsical touches abounded, like the shells embroidered on dresses printed with colorful prints of beach scenes, or dripping from spiral ribbons on mermaid dresses. If the bright colors and busy prints sometimes flirted with visual overload, the collection struck a nice balance between the feminine style that the brand is known for and cool cover-ups with a sportier bent.
This was “fun, optimistic” fashion for the post-pandemic era, Zimmermann said — just throw it on and head to the nearest beach.
Launch Gallery: Zimmermann RTW Spring 2023
