Olivia Wilde, Laura Harrier, and Emma Roberts Joined Nicky and Simone Zimmermann for a Memorable Mykonian Celebration
The Zimmermann clan’s love for Greece runs deep. Some twenty years ago, when designer Nicky Zimmermann and her husband Chris were married on the islands, she fashioned her own wedding dress—and her sister Simone’s outfit—from locally sourced tablecloths. Fast forward to today, and things look rather different. With the opening of a new boutique in Mykonos this month, Zimmermann’s signature silhouettes, prints, and fabrics have become as synonymous with the island’s globe-trotting crowd as the traditional Grecian textiles that once inspired them. And, as is customary in the Zimmermann universe, the Aegean arrival called for a celebration.
To cut the proverbial ribbon on the Studio McQualter–designed boutique, the brand welcomed guests from around the world to the Island of the Winds for an immersive getaway that felt like a Zimmermann campaign sprung to life.
“The strategy is fun,” Nicky Zimmermann said with a wink, her Sydney brogue cutting through the sea breeze. “It’s a very good idea to have a store somewhere you’d like to vacation.” Sporting freshly chopped bangs (“Never again in this wind!”), the designer embraced friends and muses alike, including Olivia Wilde, Emma Roberts, Laura Harrier, Maia Mitchell, Lady Kitty Spencer, Abby Miller, and Saffron Hocking.
Some guests had traveled for over 36 hours to be there—Wilde, notably, managed to wedge the trip between stops on the European film festival circuit. Their efforts were rewarded at Sea Satin on Monday evening, where golden hour over the Aegean set the scene. Attendees floated through the oceanside taverna in pieces from the soon-to-drop Fall/Winter 2025 collection. As if made for the Meltemi winds, silk trains and chiffon capes danced dramatically during cocktail hour.
Beneath an olive branch–wrapped pergola, two long tables were dressed to perfection—towers of fruit, ceramic pomegranate place settings, scalloped Zimmermann napkins, and flickering candles prompted more than one guest to declare it “the prettiest non-wedding wedding” they’d ever seen. A feast of traditional Greek fare unfurled across the evening, with conversation and laughter echoing well past 11 p.m.
When dessert made the rounds, it was merely an interlude before the dance floor beckoned. DJ Isan Elba kept the momentum high with a genre-blending set of ’70s classics and early-aughts house. On a party island like Mykonos, there was no shortage of energy.
Tuesday’s agenda included a leisurely lunch at the iconic seaside restaurant Spilia. Guests had two options: a scenic 40-minute drive or a turbo-speed boat ride. Those who opted for the latter soon discovered the experience skewed less Bond Girl, more windswept Bridget Jones sans headscarf. A now-viral video of a shrieking, sea-soaked Emma Roberts captured the chaos perfectly.
Still, with the help of an on-site glam team, guests were restored to photo-readiness in time for round two. Palomas and spritzes flowed as the lunch gave way to an impromptu dance party, DJed by Mimi Xu.
A long, languorous Mediterranean meal followed—one of the sort people spend all winter fantasizing about. Served on blue-and-white Cabana plates, courses of taramasalata, seabass carpaccio, and heaping bowls of lobster spaghetti were prepared tableside by a fleet of handsome waiters.
Models Abby Champion and Laiza De Moura dove from the cliffs into the sea, testing their Zimmermann swimsuits with joyful abandon. Storm Reid, Anna Shaffer, and Geraldine Viswanathan chose to swim out to the Zimmermanni Kaika boat moored offshore. Back on land, dancing resumed, this time with local DJs spinning back-to-back sets of hip-hop, Euro house, and just enough tequila-soaked anthems to fuel the festivities into evening.
The annual Zimmermann summer escape is more than just a picturesque getaway—it’s brand storytelling at its most cinematic. In addition to the two-day revelry, the team managed to produce a runway show for the upcoming Cruise collection and film a three-part short series.
But if anyone knows how to balance work with play, it’s the Australians. Over the years, the getaway has become legendary—many models and actresses confessed they’d been manifesting an invite for seasons. Part of the magic lies in the extended guest list: the longtime stylists, makeup artists, and creative collaborators who’ve shaped the Zimmermann vision. Seeing a fresh-off-the-runway look on a Hollywood A-lister is thrilling, but perhaps more so is spotting a beloved hair stylist dancing on a table in a Zimmermann sundress from a decade past.
This year, Nicky and Chris’ adult children, Bo and Sam, joined the gathering for the first time—adding a new generation to the family affair.
By sundown at Spilia, talk of a speedboat return had thankfully faded. (Spaghetti and choppy seas are not an advisable pairing.) Instead, the only destination was back to the Zimmermann villa for a proper after-party. If you can’t beat the Aussies—well, you’d better join them.
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2/42Storm Reid