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

Sydney Morning Herald

12-05-2025

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.
'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.
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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.