Summer’s Chicest Sunglasses Come Courtesy Of Zimmermann

Sunglasses seem like such an obvious part of Zimmermann’s bronzed, beachy aesthetic that one would assume the Australian brand had been in the lens game a long time. It’s not for creative director Nicky Zimmermann’s want of trying. “It’s kind of ridiculous that we don’t do them,” she tells Vogue. “I’ve been so busy focusing on other product lines that it has been on the back burner.”

The right partner came along via Sun Shades – the Australian manufacturer behind Karen Walker and Le Specs – who understood that Zimmermann’s sunglasses offering had to be rooted in fashion, rather than just function. “The development process has been surprising to me,” Zimmermann says of the finicky process the label and supplier have been honing for the past year. “I want to work faster, but I’m not an object designer and the details take a long time.”

Team Zimmermann has given the first edit (two more drops are already in the pipeline) a thumbs up. “Sunglasses are a such a personal thing,” she continues of the painstaking process of trying to cater to all face shapes and styles. The 13-piece collection comprises four styles, all costing between £200 and £240: the Paisley, Zimmermann’s take on the cat-eye shape; Joliette; a two-tone rounded pair; Juno, a teardrop silhouette; and Verona, sharp-fronted triangular lenses that are the most Instagram-friendly of the lot. The palette spans chocolate, putty, tan, ivory, teal and burgundy, and each pair displays the brand’s discreet elongated heart motif.

Naming them didn’t come naturally to Zimmermann or her sister Simone, with whom she founded the brand with in 1991. “Each time we do a collection we have to name every single item,” she groans. “It’s incredibly difficult to come up with words that conjure up beautiful images. We’ve tried our hardest and I’m sure we’ll keep improving as we go on.”

Modest she might be, but the Paisley specs, which were designed to complement the paisley-rich spring/summer 2019 collection, sold out during the pre-sale. “The exaggerated cat-eye sunglasses were created to look like an upturned paisley, but we couldn’t get a prototype made in time for the show,” Zimmermann explains. “We popped a pair in the lookbook and the response was crazy. There are tonnes of feline styles out there, but sunglasses are all about point of difference – that’s why I’m so interested in them.”

Model Jessica Hart was a no-brainer for the campaign, because “she’s a golden Aussie girl that exudes that summertime feeling,” Zimmermann smiles. “But really, we just do what comes naturally to us. [Resortwear] is a space we’re comfortable in, having grown-up in deep southern Australia.”

Although the siblings say they could wear a different pair of shades daily, the duo believes the success of the brand lies in the fact that women wear Zimmermann during “happy points in their lives”, such as holidays. “It’s really important that we’re a part of those memories.” Sunglasses are just the latest addition to those sun-soaked moments.