Carla Zampatti has seen a slew of milestones in the past 18 months: Designer Tanya Eamon Beattie—a former design assistant and protege of Carla’s—returned to the brand as creative director. Her first collection, Resort 2026, rang in the brand’s 60th anniversary, and now, in her sophomore season, she fêtes the 30th edition of Australian Fashion Week. Such celebrations tend to promote nostalgia, but they also encourage revisiting the past with new eyes—something that Beattie’s homecoming primed her to do.
Beattie doesn’t want to revel too much in the past, either. “I feel like with this new collection and this AFW, we’re really trying to just express who we are going into the future, and who is the modern Carla woman,” she said. This manifested through a new emphasis on refined separates like a feathered crop top or lilac blouse and a handful of silky sets, which Beattie explained will help transition the aesthetic of the brand from “mother of the bride” to a global empowered woman.
There was still traditional eveningwear, and plenty of old school glamour (as demonstrated by the long white catwalk backdropped by the Sydney Opera House), but even the classic liquid sequin was jazzed up through low cut backs and shorter hemlines. One high-collared, drop-waist polka dot dress could easily be worn by the mother or the bride. However, with tweaks such as these, Beattie wishes to make a subtle distinction: “It’s a bit more ageless, so not necessarily tapping into a younger market, but just feeling like anyone can wear it.”
