How the late Carla Zampatti is influencing designers at Australian Fashion Week

Australia Broadcast Center

14-05-2025

Australian design icon Carla Zampatti continued to influence local designers at the brand's opening of Australian Fashion Week in Sydney on Monday night.
The Carla Zampatti brand celebrated 60 years of its elegant designs with 60 looks featured on an outdoor runway at the Museum of Contemporary Art along Sydney's harbour.
The designer launched the eponymous label in 1965, and released her first national collection five years later.
She died in 2021 after a serious fall at an outdoor opera event aged 78.
Chief executive of Carla Zampatti and son of the late designer, Alex Schuman, said he wanted the brand's 60th anniversary to celebrate Australia's designers.
"There are countless designers, stylists, photographers, even models, who got their first run in Carla Zampatti, and now they've got their own brands," Mr Schuman said.
As part of the runway, 14 local designers were featured, including Grace Lillian Lee, Pip Edwards, Michael Lo Sordo and Zampatti's daughter Bianca Spender.
Sydney-based designer Lo Sordo was mentored by Zampatti and said he was "honoured" to be one of the 14 designers to feature in this "milestone" runway.
He said Zampatti would "swan in and swan out" of rooms, often unannounced, and that "effortless" presence was inspiration for his garment.
"Carla touched so many people over the decades of her legacy and her career."
Lo Sordo said the next generation of designers were carrying on Zampatti's legacy and "taking Carla into the future".
With Australian Fashion Week nearing three decades, the event's format has changed over the years.
This year, not-for-profit organisation the Australian Fashion Council has taken control of the event.
Australian Fashion Week CEO, Kellie Hush, said the week was a "trade event" and not "fashion entertainment".
"We are not set up to make a profit out of Australian Fashion Week; we are here to serve the industry … and make sure it's strong for the future," Ms Hush said.
"The domestic customer is really important … what's happening internationally in unpredictable."
The fashion landscape in Australia has been hit by ongoing cost-of-living pressures and is impacted by the recent tariffs imposed by the US.
Australia's fashion industry is worth about $28 billion and just over $7 billion of this is from exports, according to the Australian Fashion Council.
Carla Zampatti holds a unique position, being a locally made brand.
"We're Australian-made; it doesn't really impact us … I think for brands that are exporting Chinese-made products, it's going to be a really big challenge from them," Mr Schuman said.
Despite cost of living pressures, Mr Schuman said he has noticed a consumer shift towards local brands.
Lo Sordo said Australian Fashion Week was a prime opportunity for the new generation of designers.
"It's a really important time at the moment where we need to focus on our local industry," Lo Sordo said.
Designs from Monday night's runway with Carla Zampatti will be donated to a permanent collection of works by Australian designers at the Powerhouse Museum.