Zimmermann Fall 2024 Ready-to-Wear: Drawn to Dance
Illustration is where it all started for the fall Zimmermann collection.
“I have a collection of 1920s fashion magazines that I bought in markets in Paris many years ago,” Nicky Zimmermann told WWD at a preview. “It is fascinating that drawings were how women were shown the season because it’s so important to the way I see how a garment is going to be.”
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That led her to the Bloomsbury Group and the bubbling creativity of an era she described as “a beautiful bohemian moment where people would just do what they wanted to do,” she continued. “That’s something that is needed now.”
But it’s a coincidence that made it all come together. “My friend Gracie Otto Instagrammed an illustration her father had done,” she said, revealing that Barry Otto, best known for his prolific film career, used to sell his paintings to Australian department stores.
That procession of stylish flapper-era women dancing — used on the opening silk gown — epitomized what Zimmermann had in mind. “The garments and how we drew them was about how they move,” she said. “These dresses were made to dance and have fun.”
Fast-forward another five decades to next fall, and that’s the energy Zimmermann wanted to take into the season, filled with billowing cape gowns, blouses with giant lantern sleeves and boyish tailored separates. And the Australian designer repurposed to great effect details like godets taken from flapper dresses for kicky hems on their Zimmermann descendants.
With boho chic buzzing this week — “thank you, Chloé,” joked Zimmermann — the ‘70s flavoring that emerged with the addition of denim, liquid-looking satin dresses and leather blousons felt particularly of-the-moment.
The brand has been expanding its categories for a few years, particularly with denim and knits, and the fall season was the picture of a well-rounded offering that didn’t forget its mainstays, like great bodysuits.
Outerwear was among the standouts, in particular the buttery leather jackets. They had her existing customer base excited at the show, but should also have plenty of new fans dancing their way to Zimmermann stores.
On that front, there’s effervescence, too: the brand has a dozen openings slated for this year, starting with its first Middle East store in Dubai bowing this week and Le Bon Marché later in March as well as moving its New York City store to Greene Street in June.
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Launch Gallery: Zimmermann Fall 2024 Ready-to-Wear Collection
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