Nicky Zimmermann recalled her time at Sydney design school in the 1980s and the films that impacted her and her classmates, such as “Pretty in Pink,” “The Breakfast Club” and “St. Elmo’s Fire,” for inspiration for her resort collection.
“It was very much about that era and what those movies meant to me,” Zimmermann said. “It was also about the music and when [the actors] They weren't in the movies. These guys also had an incredible, iconic style that to me is timeless. The '80s can be kind of a polarizing fashion era, but for me, it was more about the mood of these movies and these actresses and their personalities (like they had very strong personalities), they all had an individual style, and “It was a time that had a very strong influence on me.”
The designer's prints stood out, balancing the nostalgic with the modern. There was the “dear diary” print, which gave a nod to the past with a variety of motifs such as cassettes, lockets, lipsticks and doves. The print was seen on sheer fabrics and was layered with lace details, giving a whimsical, light feel that balanced the more structured styles.
“The lace print is really just the idea of taking units and an iconic texture from the '80s and trying to reinterpret it through art in a very modern way,” Zimmermann said. “In addition to the florals, we could have tackled it and just gone down the line of doing a version of the Laura Ashley type print, which was the classic Molly Ringwald type of print, but what we did was work with our artists. and I wanted to make something very soft and unusual. [print] – something we would call dirty pies.”
Zimmermann juxtaposed airier feminine styles with heavier materials like denim and leather and constructed silhouettes, including biker and denim jackets, that she said gave a nod to the films' male leads.
Her spin on '80s fashion trends combined with her skill in craftsmanship and design details resulted in a strong resort 2025 collection with countless pieces fit for her favorite customer.
