‘It’s never only been about the money’: The Zimmermann success story

With their signature floral dresses, sisters Nicky and Simone Zimmermann have outgrown the tall poppy syndrome, following a deal making their label Australia’s first major global luxury fashion brand.

Zimmermann was acquired by US investment firm Advent International on Tuesday, after being valued at $1.5 billion to $1.75 billion, dramatically shifting the way the world sees Australian fashion.

A model at the Zimmermann ready-to-wear show in Paris on March 6.Credit: Getty

“They’re innately Australian, and they’re not trying to apologise or distract from being Australian,” says former editor of US InStyle Laura Brown, who now runs fashion communications consultancy, LB Media.

“So many brands, for so long, were about showing in Paris to demonstrate that they could be parisienne and could compete with that style. Now Zimmermann show in Paris after building a hugely successful business with an innate confidence in who they are as Australian women.”

“Designing clothes that make women feel pretty is enough,” says Brown.

Those who saw Nicky’s blouses on trestle tables at Sydney’s Paddington Markets in 1991 initially spotted creativity, not the makings of a global empire with 58 boutiques, where the most intricate dresses can cost more than $3000.

Sisters Nicky and Simone Zimmermann in Paris in February before their ready-to-wear show and in 2001, launching a new swimwear collection.Credit: Antoine Doyen, Danielle Smith

“What was there from the beginning was the signature,” says former Vogue Australia style director Judith Cook, who featured the label in their first magazine editorial. “With Nicky you got something truly unique and different. The handwork was the appeal. It was precious. It still is.”

The handwork was honed by Nicky at the Fashion Design Studio at East Sydney in 1990, where former lecturer Nicholas Huxley recognised her versatility with colour, design and texture. Simone joined Nicky to look after the business not long after the label launched.

Since those early days Zimmermann’s style signature has traversed swimwear, evening wear and children’s clothing.

“We obviously have a strong sense of femininity to a lot of what we create, but I always temper it with the more masculine,” Nicky said in June. “Be it in tailoring or accessories or other pieces. It’s about balance.”

Developing a strong signature is the groundwork for billion-dollar deals, according to brand advisor Philip Corne, the former chief executive of Louis Vuitton in Australia.

“LVMH is run as tightly as you can imagine internally so that the creative talent has the best opportunity to do what they do,” Corne says. “When I first encountered the Zimmermann team that creative piece was there. They were all switched on and disciplined.”

By that time Nicky’s husband Chris Olliver was chief executive, joining the business in 2006.

“Brand is everything,” Corne says. “Aesop were disciplined with that.”

In March, beauty giant L’Oréal acquired Melbourne-founded skincare brand Aesop in a $US2.53 billion ($3.8 billion) deal.

Like Aesop, Zimmermann’s international exposure grew steadily over time. They secured the windows at Harvey Nicholls in London, following their runway debut at the first Australian Fashion Week in 1996, alongside Collette Dinnigan, Akira Isogawa and Alex Perry.

As their range developed, they infiltrated Saks Fifth Avenue, Selfridges in London and e-boutique Net-a-porter, before the international roll-out of stores began in Los Angeles in 2011.

Zimmermann’s patience finding investors who fit their expansion goals, rather than just offering money, was crucial says Corne. Less fortunate were Australian designers Kit Willow and Peter Morrisey who were ousted from their namesake brands after outside investment.

“Taking your brand outside of Australia is hard and Zimmermann have done a fantastic job,” Corne says. “They found strategic investors that helped them into new markets. It’s never only been about the money.”

Loyalty is another shimmering thread in the company’s fabric. Many of Zimmermann’s key players have worked with the brand from its early days. Leading florist Saskia Havekes of Grandiflora, hairdresser Renya Xydis and London-based stylist Michelle Jank are frequent collaborators.

“They have an unwavering, faithful approach to their teams,” Jank says. “They feel like family to me.”

“There is a constant unwavering positivity, generosity and lightness, which feels rare and special these days. It runs through everything they do, and I believe you can feel it in their clothing.”

Interior designer Don McQualter of Studio McQualter worked on Zimmermann’s second store, located on Sydney’s Oxford Street, close to their market beginnings. He just completed work on Zimmermann’s 58th boutique, in Hawaii, in April.

“In our first meeting Simone said that they liked our work because she felt it wouldn’t date,” McQualter says. “We’ve always kept that in mind.”

“We like to make the boutiques feel relatively low-key and comfortable, which is maybe what distinguishes them from many other brands.”

More stores are set to come, with Advent signalling greater ambitions in Asia and the Middle East in the investment announcement. And with Advent having recently partnered with beauty brands Parfums de Marly and Inition Parfums Privés, in a rumoured $US700 million ($1.1 billion) deal, a Zimmermann fragrance seems likely.

It’s a serious business but friends of the sisters, who remain with the business and have a significant minority shareholding, are confident that they will find cause for laughter on the journey ahead.

“They’re supportive, kind and they haven’t changed,” Xydis says. “They haven’t allowed this to change them.”

“Nicky, Simone and Chris work hard but have a great sense of joy about them and in what they’re doing,” says Jank. “Nothing is more infectious than Nicky and Simone’s laughter.”

For Brown, the Zimmermann’s success gives hope to other Australian labels with aspirations for billion-dollar valuations.

The label’s influence can be seen in the work of Aje and Alemais, while in 2010 the sisters offered mentorship to Dion Lee, who shows at New York Fashion Week.

“It’s incredible to see an Australian brand succeed on this level,” Brown says. “It’s not tourism. It’s fashion.”

“More Australian brands can take comfort in being Australian. That is what will give them their value and not trying to be an idea of something else.”

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