A Historic Win and Its Lasting Legacy
At 7:21am on September 27, 1983, Australia II crossed the finish line off the coast of Newport, Rhode Island, ending the United States’ 132-year hold on the America’s Cup. That day, office workers reportedly abandoned their desks. Schools rolled televisions into classrooms. And Prime Minister Bob Hawke famously declared that any boss who sacked someone for not turning up to work that afternoon was “a bum.”
Across Australia, the win triggered national hysteria. It was the kind of upset absorbed almost immediately into the country’s folklore. Among those watching at home was a young Nicky Zimmermann, who remembers the scale of national admiration as if it were yesterday. “It was one of those rare moments that swept the whole country up in a brilliant wave of joy and pride,” she says. “There was something very Aussie about the whole story… [The team] challenged tradition, pushed the rules and the whole thing was just really inspiring.”
Forty-four years on, that same underdog spirit became the starting point for Zimmermann’s Cruise 2027 collection. Revealed in Antibes on Friday — a natural setting with its sailing culture and what Zimmermann describes as “effortless glamour” — the collection draws from the visual language surrounding the race itself: wind-whipped sails, nautical flags, salt-faded colours and a distinctly Australian irreverence. “Someone asked me how we segue from that inspiration into a fashion collection — and I think it really clicked once we started researching and sitting with the photos and film,” the creative director tells ELLE Australia. “I saw this really interesting tension between the functional side of sailing and the fluidity of the sails, and then the punch of colour… For a designer, there was just so much to lean into.”
Sailing Inspired Design
The inspiration is evident in the collection where strong sailing references are carried through each look. Rope fastenings appear against crisp cotton separates, while striped fabrics reminiscent of maritime flags run across sheer gowns and oversized shirting. One chiffon dress is printed to resemble actual sails, while elsewhere, denim comes in sculptural silhouettes: a corseted bodice top paired with an asymmetric skirt, and flared jeans worn beneath poplin shirting.
Accessories carry the maritime thread even further. Satin mules are finished with nautical hardware, basketweave leather bags soften some of the collection’s sharper tailoring, and medallion-style brooches appear pinned against striped shirting and soft suiting. The palette, too, shifts gradually throughout the collection: coastal whites, creams and navy paired with washed pastels, deep earth tones and flashes of crimson.
The America’s Cup is steeped in history and ceremony, something Zimmermann also tapped into through its surrounding social calendar. “There were all these black-tie and evening events,” Zimmermann says. “It shifts from a sporting endeavour by day to a glamorous night-time affair.”
From Regatta to After-Party
As the collection progresses, you can see those regatta references give way to the sort of dressing better suited to the after-party. Silk jersey separates sit loosely on the body, while lace gowns descend into flared hems and sheer panelling. A lavender strapless jumpsuit interrupts the formality of traditional tuxedo dressing, and tailored shorts suits expose flashes of lace beneath sharp suiting. Continuing the rebellious streak Zimmermann explored last season, traditional yacht club propriety no longer seems particularly relevant.
“One of the things that really resonated with me was the cheekiness of the Aussie team,” says Zimmermann. “Their unfussy practicality, risk-taking, grit and determination… like a good film, the story had it all.” And, in its own way, so does the Cruise 2027 collection.
