ZIMMERMANN

As is custom with team Zimmermann, I stopped by their studio the day before their NYFW show to rifle through the print spectrum of silk to organza.

There’s certainly no need to discuss Zimmermann’s powerhouse global business. For Australian designers, the conversation does usually revolve around the tension between the art and commerce. They have the art down – but perhaps not as strong a business model to back it up (or amount to much longevity).

Not Zimmermann – there’s no question about that.

Instead, we turn our focus to their Fall/Winter collection that just walked in New York. And for a brand with its roots in swimwear, it’s a fairly significant statement for me to say that this is their best collection to date. Even after my assessment is adjusted for Australian-Pride-bias. And particularly as Australia has absolutely no winter to speak of. Granted, none of us will be getting away with these breezy silks and organzas, in this city’s timely sub-zero temperatures, regardless of

the shocking amount of layering I can get away with before I start resembling a snowball. But of course, home soil is still their biggest market, and the US has eagerly embraced their whimsical laces, tumbling floral prints, Victorian necklines and flouncy sleeves, all injected with their structured swimwear sensibilities that catalysed their global expansion and cult celebrity following.

As is custom with team Zimmermann, I stopped by their studio the day before their show to rifle through the print spectrum of silk to organza, peppered with equal parts slouchy and structured outerwear to offset the wild femininity of the other 80% – which is fine by me. Where there is an orange pinstripe bomber, there is a way. This Fall collection is for the deliberate Bohemian. For all its explosively shocking visuals (and magenta light show for the models’ final walk), once separated, you have a very comprehensive set of building blocks to morph into any styling brief remotely attached sunshine and globetrotting.