Legendary Australian fashion designer, Carla Zampatti dead, aged 78
Legendary Australian fashion designer Carla Zampatti has passed away aged 78, after a serious fall at the Opera last weekend.
Legendary Australian fashion designer Carla Zampatti has died at the age of 78, following a week-long hospitalisation after a fall at the Opera last weekend.
Zampatti was placed “under observation” at Sydney’s St Vincent’s Hospital after falling down stairs at the opening of La Traviata at Mrs Macquarie’s Point last Friday Night.
It’s understood she was in a coma and never woke up, The Daily Telegraph reports.
She was rendered unconscious from the fall and was assisted by a first aid professional, before ambulance officers treated her at the scene and she was transported to hospital.
“Carla is very grateful for the support from medically trained members of the audience who assisted and for the excellent care from the team at St Vincent’s Hospital,” a family spokesman said earlier this week.
The industry pioneer, born in Italy and settling in Australia with her family in 1950, has enjoyed a career spanning nearly six decades, with big names celebrities at home and abroad dedicated fans of her eponymous label.
Tributes to the designer quickly poured in from local stars and politicians, with NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian writing that “the world will never be the same without Carla Zampatti”.
Magda Szubanski said she’d worked with Zampatti and described her as having “great elegance and sympathy”, while Channel 9 presenter David Campbell called her a “class act” and a “pioneer”.
The world will never be the same without Carla Zampatti. Talented, generous and inspiring. A true trailblazer in every respect. Rest In Peace.
— Gladys Berejiklian (@GladysB) April 3, 2021
So very sad to hear of the death of Carla Zampatti. Such a lovely woman who dressed me on a few occasions with great elegance and empathy. Her tailoring was impeccable and her style divine. My deepest condolences to her family â¤ï¸ðŸ™
— Magda Szubanski AO (@MagdaSzubanski) April 3, 2021
She sent Australian women out to work fully armoured in a world often hostile to us. She made us feel strong and elegant. She was wry, beautiful, great company and had an enduring vision. I have spent countless days head to toe in Carla. I will miss her. Bellezza. #carlazampattipic.twitter.com/crVq2dbYZU
— Virginia Trioli (@LaTrioli) April 3, 2021
“Very sad to learn of our dear friend Carla Zampatti’s passing. One of our greatest Australians – brilliant, innovative, elegant, creative,” former prime minister Malcolm Turnbull wrote on Twitter.
“Embodying the success of our remarkable multicultural nation. Our sympathy and love are with her family.”
On Instagram, Zampatti’s eldest daughter, Bianca Spender, wrote: “Today I lost my mother, my inspiration, my mentor, and my friend. I am lost for words and totally heartbroken.”
“Jen and I are terribly saddened by the passing of Carla Zampatti. We have lost a truly great and inspirational Australian,” Prime Minister Scott Morrison said in a statement.
“Carla was an icon to the fashion industry, a pioneer as an entrepreneur and a champion of multicultural Australia. It was our great honour to have known her.
“She was a very kind, strong, elegant and sincere woman. She will be sadly missed by family, friends and all who she inspired alike. Her contribution to our nation will be timeless, just like her designs. We extend our deepest sympathies to her family.”
News.com.au’s style commentator Melissa Hoyer said the late designer, will be remembered as an industry trailblazer and iconic designer whose clothes were loved by multiple generations.
“Carla blazed the trail for other designers and mentored many over the last 50 years,” she said.
“She cleverly kept reinventing her fashion brand and each season would come out with a whole new power look that was still intrinsically a ‘Carla’ design.
“Carla may have dressed celebrities, politicians, royalty and TV faces but her appeal went way beyond that, with every day Australian women aspiring to wear a piece of Carla at some stage in their life.”
Hoyer was last with Ms Zampatti last Friday evening, when the pair caught up, just before for the opening night of the opera on Sydney harbour, La Traviata.
“We had a really happy catch up before the show and we were having a chat about QR codes and wondering when to the day would come where we didn’t have to check-in anymore,” said Hoyer.
“As usual, Carla looked immaculate, as usual, and as she was a huge supporter of the arts was looking forward to the opera.
“The entire fashion industry is just shell-shocked as Carla was always a voice of reason, of success and longevity.”
“Carla Zampatti is Australia’s most successful and enduring fashion designer, launching her eponymous label in 1965,” a statement, released after her death this morning, read.
“Executive Chairman of Carla Zampatti Pty Ltd, Carla has long been celebrated for making Australian women feel confident and elegant through her exceptional design, tailoring and understanding of the modern world.
“Born in Italy, Carla settled with her family in Western Australia in 1950. After moving to Sydney in her 20s, she produced her first small fashion collection in 1965. Two years later she launched her collection nationally and in 1970 established Carla Zampatti Pty Ltd.
“A champion of Australian women and a multicultural success story, she continued to thrive as a businesswoman through enormous radical and social change, designing clothes for women fighting for liberation through the women’s rights movement in the 1960s to empowering women today in leadership, the workplace, in their home and at major life events.
“She went on to expand her retail network to create a chain of boutiques across Australia and New Zealand and her clothes are truly considered a distinctive part of modern Australian lifestyle. Her designs have been worn by Australia’s most influential women from Prime Ministers and Premiers to business leaders, dignitaries, award-winning journalists, royalty and celebrities. They include Princess Mary of Denmark, Dame Quentin Bryce, Julia Gillard, Gladys Berejiklian, Julie Bishop, Nicole Kidman and Cate Blanchett.”
In 1987, Zampatti was awarded a Member of the Order of Australia, and, in 2009, a Companion of the Order of Australia. She was appointed Commander in the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic in 2004 by the Italian government, and awarded the Australian Fashion Laureate award for lifetime achievement four years later.
Zampatti had three children – son Alexander Schuman, with her first husband Leo Schuman – and two daughters, Bianca Spender and Allegra Spender, from her marriage to former Australian lawyer, politician and diplomat, John Spender.
She was also the “proud Nonna” of nine grandchildren.
“Her family is very grateful for the support and for the excellent care from the team at St Vincent’s Hospital Sydney,” the statement said.
“A condolence page has been established at Carla Zampatti AC|Farewelling memorial. The family ask for privacy at this time.”
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