‘You could feel her in the room’: Carla Zampatti label returns to form

It’s out with the new and in with the old as the Carla Zampatti label celebrated its 60th anniversary by opening Australian Fashion Week at Circular Quay in Sydney on Monday night.

Behind the scenes at this year’s annual industry event everything is different, with new operators the Australian Fashion Council and fewer big names on the schedule, but the spectacular runway show by Carla Zampatti was as comforting as one of the brand’s signature black crepe gowns.

A model in Carla Zampatti before the opening show of Australian Fashion Week at Circular Quay, Sydney.Credit: Steven Siewert

“Opening AFW is an honour that we don’t take for granted,” says Alexander Schuman, Carla Zampatti chief executive, and son of the designer who died following a fall in April 2021. “Mum was always altruistic towards the industry.”

“This collection is a bold statement of where we are, offering a contemporary DNA for the next generation of customers.”

With a focus on separates and fresh blazer silhouettes alongside evening wear, it is deliberately not as bold as last year’s fashion week presentation, where risque sheer pieces and plunging cuts had traditional customers clutching their Paspaley pearls.

Captains of industry, newsreaders and mothers of the bride who worship Zampatti as the patron saint of style can relax.

“The shift is a sign of the times because women have moved into a different space,” Schuman says. “It’s no longer all about the glamour of the gown. There’s still sex appeal for the fashion-forward customer in their 30s, but we are thinking about the professional woman who is the mainstay of the brand.”

Adding a layer of new to Carla Zampatti’s aesthetic, so familiar that the collection is called Ubiquity, were dresses by designers including Christopher Esber, Akira Isogawa and Zampatti’s daughter Bianca Spender. Rather than challenge customers, these pieces were designed for the Powerhouse Museum.

Gail Sorronda, who was denied an official schedule slot at fashion week to celebrate the 20th anniversary of her business, designed a white silk taffeta piece inspired by Zampatti’s crisp shirting.

“It looks ethereal and strong,” Sorronda says. “I feel that Carla Zampatti was great at crafting a strong female archetype with sophistication. There was drama but also restraint. I decided to go with the drama.”

It’s a discipline that Schuman inherited, which he is applying to the business rather than the runway, hopeful of attracting the attention of international buyers being hosted by AFW at the $300 million hotel Capella Sydney.

Since his mother’s death, Schuman has been preparing the business for international wholesaling.

“We are making the right steps at the beginning of the journey,” he says. “As the Zimmermann team will tell you, their overnight success was 20 years in the making.”

It’s one of the ways that Schuman is moving out of the long shadow cast by his mother.

“One of the stylists observed that you could feel Carla in the room,” he says. “She will always be with us.”

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