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Italian-born Carla Zampatti AC (1942–2021) moved to a small town in Western Australia with her family in 1950. Having aspired to a fashion design career since childhood, she assembled her first collection, aged 23, in 1965 and by 1970 she’d established Carla Zampatti Ltd. She opened her first boutique in Surry Hills in 1972, with demand for her effortlessly elegant designs soon resulting in an additional three stores in Sydney. As renowned for her business acumen as her impeccable style, Zampatti was the first female chair of SBS (1999 to 2009), and served on many boards including those of the Sydney Dance Company, Westfield Holdings, the Australian Multicultural Foundation, Woolmark Corporation and the European Australian Business Council. At the time of her death in 2021, there were 26 Carla Zampatti boutiques and David Jones concessions across Australia and New Zealand.
Fashion photographer Georges Antoni took this image for the Harper’s Bazaar Woman of the Year Award in 2015. 'When I was asked would I mind if they created that into a portrait, I was very honoured’, Zampatti said. ‘Because I think there’s something magical about portraits.' The photo appeared on the cover of her autobiography My Life, My Look, published the same year
Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2016
© Georges Antoni
On one level The Companion talks about the most famous and frontline Australians, but on another it tells us about ourselves.
Carla discusses her decision, at age six, to become a fashion designer and the subsequent evolution of her career.
Featuring striking photographic portraits of contemporary figures from the National Portrait Gallery collection, The Look is an aesthetic treat with a lashing of je ne sais quoi.
The National Portrait Gallery acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of Country throughout Australia and recognises the continuing connection to lands, waters and communities. We pay our respect to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures and to Elders past and present. We respectfully advise that this site includes works by, images of, names of, voices of and references to deceased people.
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