Zimmermann Brand
Zimmermann Presents Its New Fall 2024 Ready-To-Wear Collection: In Illustration
Luxferity, 05.03.2024
It starts with a sketch. It’s a craft Nicky Zimmermann has built her design process on, and this season is no exception; turning a magnifying glass on the art of fashion illustration for Fall 2024.
“Fashion illustration as an art form in itself is something I’ve always been drawn to. I have a collection of fashion magazines from the 1920’s and they’re made up of so many beautiful hand-drawn illustrations. The mood of those drawings, the magazines themselves and the way fashion was depicted in the era became a key reference point for the season. The 20’s and the dramatic way the illustrations hero volume and texture and movement are themes that run through the collection. We’ve also been fortunate to get access to some incredible vintage drawings from various eras and these have been incorporated in some of our key show prints. One of my favourites is the artwork by Barry Otto which appears in our opening looks. I love the feminine figure and the ethereal feel - that the drawing can have a life of its own.” - Nicky Zimmermann, Creative Director.
Taking cues from the 1920s when fashion illustration was the sole source of consuming fashion content, prints have been sourced from pages of legacy fashion magazines. An illustration from Australian actor Barry Otto created in the 70s from a past career, discovered serendipitously and sourced via the Otto family adorns the opening look - a freehand sketch on a graphic silk burnout dress with dramatic winged sleeves. Nouveau wallpaper prints and flapper silhouettes are modernised in plaited spaghetti-fringe draping and delicate lacechiffon dresses are tied up by oversized bustier bows with lingerie-inspired appeal.
Denim comes through in untraditional silhouettes, wide trouser pants and spacious blouses with pussy bows. Textural layers add warmth for the season with soft knits, fluffy tube dresses and velvet draped tops. Ample outerwear offers an eclectic mix of fabrications and styles like a long leopard print silk coat; or a buttery leather oversized bomber jacket.
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Following her inspiration, the Bloomsbury group - an informal group of prominent artists and writers in early 20th century including Virginia Woolf and Vanessa Bell - also became a point of influence; infusing the collection with a dusty colour palette and nods to a past era; modernised in fabrications and innovative details. Chocolate lace body suits with velvet trousers, panelled chiffon slip silhouettes in sepia tones and manish checked tailoring. Simple caped dresses and glittering gowns provide options no matter the mood. Flared godets lined with tulle add interest and flounce to key looks. Leopard and ASMR sequins weave through the collection from looks to accessories.
Air and volume are key themes of the collection - capturing the sense of movement and lightness from the original sketch in the true garment is a point of obsession for Zimmermann. Bold voluminous suiting, batwing sleeves and paint smock dresses in illustration and on runway are one in the same as shape, colour, even mood and energy are transformed from idea to reality.
Zimmermann’s Fall 2024 Ready-To-Wear collection, In Illustration, was presented today at Pavillon Cambon during Paris Fashion Week.
