Carla Zampatti celebrates 60th anniversary with industry collaboration

The brand brought together some of Australia’s top designers to celebrate the legacy of its founder and a big birthday.

Annie Brown

Models walk the runway during the Carla Zampatti show in Sydney’s Circular Quay on Monday. Picture: AAP

2 min read

8:30PMMay 12, 2025.

Updated 16 hours ago

Carla Zampatti has opened Australian Fashion Week with a show on Monday evening outside the Museum of Contemporary Art in Sydney’s Circular Quay. At its heart was a celebration of the eponymous designer’s impact on the Australian industry, and the brand’s 60th anniversary.

The show included a collaboration with 14 Australian designers – including Toni Maticevski, Christopher Esber, Romance Was Born and Akira Isogawa – on a unique design that reinterpreted Zampatti’s legacy. The designer died suddenly four years ago.

The pieces will eventually be donated to the Powerhouse Museum. It’s something of a full circle moment. In 2023 the museum hosted a retrospective of the designer’s work, including pieces from the hundreds of women who responded to a public call-out.

Alex Schuman, chief executive of Carla Zampatti – and the designer’s eldest child and only son – says the show was an opportunity to celebrate the many people, especially women, who feel a connection with the brand.

“Our brand has become a beacon for Australian women, woven into the fabric of the Australian fashion industry,” he said.

Front-row guests included Schuman’s sister, independent Wentworth MP Allegra Spender.

New design director Tanya Emon Beattie – who rejoined the business last year after starting there some 20 years ago – said the collaboration with the designers was a way to celebrate the creativity within the industry.

“I think most people really nailed the colour palette. So a lot of bold colours. I think the fabrications were really Carla, but it was really nice to see each individual designer’s handwriting within each garment,” she said.

For Maticevski, it was an honour to contribute to the project. “Being part of this celebration felt deeply personal,” he said.

“Carla wasn’t just a visionary – she was someone who saw you, encouraged you, and made you feel like your contribution had purpose. I wanted to honour that energy … Carla left an indelible mark on Australian fashion.”

Zampatti son and CEO Alex Schuman and model Charlee Fraser at the launch. Picture: Getty Images

Pushing the brand forward while staying true to its design codes is something Emon Beattie had been thinking about ahead of her debut show. She spent time in the archives, but wanted to think about what women today and in the future will want to wear too.

With this collection Emon Beattie wanted to bring a little more skin and sexiness to Zampatti signatures such as sensual draping, sharp suiting and bold colours.

Titled “Ubiquity”, it featured 60 looks, including cropped jackets, feather-trimmed coats and languid, sensual gowns in a palette of black and white, hot tamale red, bronze and more muted tones. Pussy-bow blouses, sheer and flouncy polka dot dresses and bandeaux added a touch of jet-set glamour. “We want to keep being modern. Carla had such a modern mindset, I really wanted to maintain that,” Emon Beattie said.

Australian Fashion Week continues until Friday with Aje, Bianca Spender, Romance Was Born and more set to show.