Zimmermann and Otto family at the art of fashion trend

Zimmermann’s latest Paris show referenced the intricate fashion artworks of Australian actor Barry Otto. 

Nicky Zimmermann and Gracie Otto have collaborated to incorporate Barry Otto's artwork into fashion designs on the Paris runway. Picture: Jonathan Bookalli

The voluminous, painterly clothes by Australian brand Zimmermann have always resembled art come to life.

But for designer Nicky Zimmermann – who, along with sister Simone, built the 33-year-old label from a Sydney market stall into one of Australia’s biggest fashion exports – inspiration was found in an Australian creative icon for their newest collection, which showed on Monday in Paris.

“The show is called ‘In Illustration’,” Zimmermann says before the autumn-winter ’24-’25 presentation. Inspired by the visual grandeur of historic fashion sketches, Zimmermann was enamoured with 1920s issues of Vogue and Vanity Fair, which preceded the use of photography to show fashion in magazines.

One of the fashion designs.

But a chance encounter on social media with Australian filmmaker Gracie Otto, a long-time friend and collaborator of the brand, was the catalyst for a major brainwave.

“We follow each other on Instagram … I’m sitting in my office, and Gracie posted this incredible set of black-and-white drawings, perfect fashion illustrations,” Zimmermann recalls. “I just DM’d her and said, ‘I’m sorry, but what are these?’, and she went, ‘my dad did them!’.”

Renowned Australian actor and artist Barry Otto at his Lewisham home preparing for his next exhibition.

Otto’s father is Australian actor Barry Otto; he sidelines as an artist, and in the 1960s, briefly worked as a fashion illustrator.

Among the family’s prized possessions is fashion artwork Barry created for his personal collection, which mixes the bohemian qualities of the 1920s and 1960s. These were the pieces that piqued Zimmermann’s interest online.

“The eras kind of cross over – there’s an eccentricity and bohemian mood in both,” she says of the artworks.

She was so inspired by Otto’s art that she incorporated it in the opening look of Zimmermann autumn-winter ’24-’25: a flowing black-and-gold dress with metallic accents that set the mood for a range evoking the grandeur of historic fashion prints.

Nicky Zimmerman and Gracie Otto. Picture: Jonathan Bookalli

Elsewhere, there were skirts and minidresses adorned with Otto’s striking art; Zimmermann incorporated a new, specialised technique to ensure the representations of his handwork were visually perfect.

“We did a technique called a ‘burnout’ – the fabric is treated in a way that the background of the fabric is melted away and becomes sheer,” Zimmermann shares. “Then you’re left with the art, and it’s solid and high shine.”

This isn’t the first time the brand has incorporated the work of an Australian artist. For autumn-winter ’23-’24, Zimmermann harnessed 19th-century Australian artist Rupert Bunny’s paintings, which brought him success in Europe. A glance at this season proves the success of the “burnout” technique in visualising Otto’s work. “It’s about trying to emphasise the art (and) making the dress really special for our customers … but it had a lot of meaning for me because of our relationship with Gracie,” Zimmermann explains.

“Not many people know that Dad was a fashion illustrator back in the ’60s before he got into acting, and his ambition was to be a designer like his favourites Yves Saint Laurent and Christian Dior,” Gracie Otto says. “I’m amazed by Nicky’s brilliance to bring the drawing to life and see how this piece of art can move into a new dimension.”