“Easy and hot” was Nicky Hilton’s positive précis of Nicky Zimmermann’s collection as we hustled out of the show. That would be the end of this review were it not so complex to make clothes that appear so easy to wear.
It was hot all round. On a scorching Monday morning—in October!—the skylighted Palais de Tokyo venue was as steamy as a shearer’s armpit. As we marinated preshow, it made you think that beyond-resort heat-wave wear for these increasingly frequent mercury-busting days might be a canny category to emphasize. With its sunny Sydney DNA, Zimmermann is already au fait with this territory. In a collection that contained three main and sometimes intermingling strands—sportily versatile jersey, cotton, and knit pieces; volumized many-ruffled and guipure-edged georgette and charmeuse dresses; and slouchy but smart tailoring in denim and leather—at least 50% looked a breeze to wear even in the Palais sauna.
The pastel all-color jersey/cotton/knit looks resembled off-duty dancers’ attire, built for freedom of movement but not visually defined by technicality: a compelling alternative for the yoga-pant constituency. This sporty duality carried over into racerback white lace crops, which were used as formfitting eveningwear base layers over pretty, vaguely Sicilian baptism-gown butterfly-and-flower-pattern voile dresses edged with more cappuccino froths of lace.
There was similar genre-blending in looks that placed spaghetti-strap, sometimes semi-sheer tiered mid-length backless dresses over appealingly generous, carrot-cut washed jeans, or light lace tops under textured tailoring. Another strong side story for when typical October weather kicks in was told through wide-leg nappa culottes and shorts with paper-bag waistlines, as well as a shirt-trench hybrid in the same material. There were snuggly Lurex-shot high-cut hoodies too. An emphasis on the empire line, ever reliable, recurred episodically across the collection.
The dresses included a caped and draped robe in graduated dégradé patches of violet, orange, and pale yellow derived from abstract landscapes. Zimmermann said the often layered and backless flower-bomb gowns and shirtdresses had been purposefully given a washed, faded finish because “we want it to feel that the girls are walking and the flowers are just around them.” Sometimes garlanded with lace petals and handsome golden jewelry, including bunch-of-grapes earrings, these had a Dionysian freshness to them.
There were no bags on the runway, said Zimmermann, because her Paris design studio is currently being upgraded and expanded and she isn’t yet ready to show what’s being cooked up. She added: “Bags are so open for us as a brand. We sell clothing—and we sell a lot—but we don’t really sell accessories. But you’ve got to get it right. I want to love it. When we do get it right, the potential is enormous.”
That potential will be part of what prompted a significant private-equity buyout of the brand this summer. Zimmermann said its essence remains much as it was when she founded it back in 1991. “It’s not particularly intellectual, you know—it’s about making women feel beautiful and having fun and hopefully being able to make memories through what they are wearing.” Watching the preshow preparations ratchet up, she added: “The best thing is when you are with the models and they are getting dressed and you can see that they are pretty happy to be in the clothes. They’re playing in the garments—that’s a good sign! It’s really important for us that the models actually like what they’re wearing because they bring everything to life.”
