Zimmermann brought the sun to gray, wet Paris. Under the blue skies of the Petit Palais’s beaux-arts frescoes Nicky Zimmermann showed a collection that transported attendees to warmer, frothier climes.
The front row was filled with starlets and friends of the house, a large Aussie contingent, all outfitted in fluttering cotton candy tulle and strappy, heeled sandals. In the neighboring section members of the press looked like a different species in dark jackets, beleaguered expressions and studded flats. While it may be true that the Zimmermann élan does not always fit the mood of the preternaturally cynical editor cohort, the Australian brand founded by sisters Nicky and Simone Zimmermann in 1991 has acquired diehard fans virtually everywhere else. It has over 50 stores across almost every continent, and at the end of 2023, when it sold to private equity fund Advent International, it became Australia’s first fashion brand with a billion dollar valuation. Zimmermann is no longer down under: it’s firmly on top.
While Chemena Kamali’s Chloé has been touted for the successful creation of a boho heroine for all seasons, Zimmermann speaks to similar codes but at a more accessible price point and for perhaps more varied occasions—we have entered the Zimmerverse. At every summer wedding on the Eastern seaboard it’s a safe bet that you’ll encounter a Zimmermann ruffled or floral print frock. I have no doubt Michelle Monaghan or Leslie Bibb will be sporting a Zimmermann frock in at least one upcoming episode of The White Lotus.
The fall 2025 show, titled Hypnotic, opened with a soundtrack of girls giggling, a reference to the inspiration for the collection, Peter Weir’s cult Australian film Picnic at Hanging Rock, which will have its 50th anniversary this year. “It is something other people have referenced quite a lot, but I felt we could have a very personal take,” said Nicky Zimmermann in the showroom the day before the show. “The label is unashamedly feminine and also about escapism, so the film linked in many ways.” However, the designer did not want, “a history lesson in costume.” Instead, fluttering handkerchief hem dresses were illustrated with hand-drawn maps of the film’s namesake location on Mount Macedon and valentines woven into lace were based on those exchanged in the film, as well as vintage letters found at the Clignancourt flea market.
Victorian lace bibs and schoolgirl pinafores were reimagined as tops; a dusty rose and milk chocolate striped silk shirt was printed with a school crest. Clothes influenced by the backlit dreamscape of the beginning of the film transitioned into others nodding to spooky Australian bush territory with mossy, underbrush-colored lace and snake print chiffon (Australia is home to many of the deadliest species of snakes). Denim, one of the brand’s fastest growing categories, was manipulated in unexpected but true-to-the-house ways: ribcage cut-outs and sinuous ruffles on high-necked dresses. The sheer dresses can be paired with high-necked lace bodysuits, a Victorian take on Skims, further demonstrating how Zimmermann speaks to the women who wear it. The brand, which started with swimwear over three decades ago, has stayed true to its goal of dressing women to look and feel their best, be that in wispy lace or a sculpted ochre velvet bodice atop a Grecian draped jersey skirt, a reimagining of spring’s best-selling neoprene version.
