A look at Carla Zampatti’s most timeless creations

Carla Zampatti’s designs will live on in fashion history as celebrities pass her pieces onto their children and customers stockpile designs from the last collection before her death. 

The 78-year-old Australian fashion icon was accessible to the everyday working woman while also remaining a red carpet staple – dressing the likes of Miranda Kerr, Julie Bishop and even royalty.

Her designs, which cost anywhere between $220 and $1,500, include everything from the office wear to the runway. 

Zampatti died at St Vincent’s Hospital on Saturday morning – a week after she fell down stairs at an outdoor opening performance of Opera Australia’s Traviata on Sydney Harbour.    

Phoebe Burgess, who shares two children with her ex-husband, NRL star Sam Burgess, vowed to keep all of her Zampatti designs in pristine condition to one day pass down to her daughter, Poppy. 

She said: ‘I’ll hold on to my ”Carla’s” for my Poppy and hope they bring her as much confidence, power and joy as they did her mum.

‘Thank you Carla, for the class and confidence your creations gave my mum, me and generations of Australian women. Forever a fan, we will miss you dearly.’

Burgess is among a bevy of mourning celebrities honouring Zampatti and her incredible success in the wake of her death.

Sam Armytage shared a photograph from her 2020 wedding to husband Richard Lavender, revealing her classy high-neck satin dress was a Carla Zampatti original. 

‘Absolutely devastated at the loss of my beautiful friend Carla Zampatti this morning. She was a creative genius, a wonderful generous elegant woman & very much a part of many of my favourite memories. She will be dearly missed, but never forgotten. And will live on forever in my heart, & my wardrobe,’ Armytage wrote. 

Princess Mary of Denmark wore a dusty pink floor length Carla Zampatti gown for an official royal portrait in 2015 alongside her husband Prince Frederik.

The Australian princess is not the only royal who adores the Australian designer’s clothing. Sarah Ferguson, the Duchess of York and ex-wife to Prince Andrew, was spotted in a zebra print Zampatti blazer during an official engagement.

Former Prime Minister Julia Gillard wore the same piece in 2016. 

Julie Bishop, the former deputy leader of the Liberal Party and Minister for Foreign Affairs shared a moving tribute to Zampatti in the wake of her death, revealing she often wore the fashion icon’s clothes both in professional and personal settings.

Carla Zampatti was a truly great Australian who inspired generations of women with her style, grace and determination. She was in a class of her own. It was a privilege to call her a friend,’ Bishop said on Saturday while sharing pictures of herself with Zampatti on several occasions. 

Meanwhile former Victoria’s Secret angel and model Miranda Kerr has been pictured several times in Zampatti designs – both on the runway and on red carpets. 

The mother-of-three has been wearing Zampatti clothes since she was a teenager, describing a soft blue chiffon floor length gown she wore to the 2015 Women of Style Awards as her favourite. Fellow Victoria’s Secret model Shanina Shaik has also been pictured in her designs. 

Zampatti launched her first collection in 1965 after emigrating to Sydney with her family from northern Italy in 1950. 

In a statement publicly confirming her death, spokeswoman Kellie Hush commemorated Zampatti as ‘Australia’s most successful and enduring fashion designer’ and a ‘champion of Australian women’. 

‘She continued to thrive as a businesswoman through enormous radical and social change, designing clothes for women fighting for liberation through the women’s rights movement in the 1960s to empowering women today in leadership, the workplace, in their home and at major life events,’ Ms Hush said.

Her family released a separate statement in the wake of her death which read: ‘Carla has long been celebrated for making Australian women feel confident and elegant through her exceptional design, tailoring and understanding of the modern woman.’ 

As women vow to hold their staple Zampatti pieces close and pass them down in the family, others have rushed to stores and online to snap up what they can of her latest collections.

Margarita Marambio, who has worked in sales for Zampatti for 15 years, told the Sydney Morning Herald customers were marking the ‘end of an era’ by securing some of the final pieces the brand released while Zampatti was still alive.

Customers cried and laughed as they recalled their favourite Zampatti stories while making the purchases on Saturday and Sunday, Ms Marambio said. 

Carla Zampatti pieces range from about $230 for a blouse to $1,450 for coats and dresses.

But these prices are likely to soar as the future of the brand is up in the air following Zampatti’s death.

Her latest collection will forever be remembered as the last line released prior to her tragic death, which could contribute to skyrocketing resale prices in the years and decades to come. 

Zampatti will be given a state funeral to recognise her enormous contribution to the Australian fashion industry.

In a statement on Sunday, NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian described the designer as ‘talented, generous and inspiring. A true trailblazer in every respect’.

‘On behalf of the people of NSW, I extend my deepest condolences to the family, friends and colleagues of Carla.’ the statement said.

Details of the State Funeral will be provided in the coming days.