Dear diary, Nicky Zimmermann made me feel like a fairy today…

When was the last time you went out to catch butterflies? I thought about this question a lot today, and I think my answer would be around 10 or 15 years ago, when I was still quite small, playing in my grandpa’s never-ending, forever-green garden. He used to plant aromatic plants like mint, lavender and rosemary around flowers so that “butterflies and bees can freely roam around and feel at home here.” Why? Because they are hardworking and also need to sleep; at least that’s what he believed.

I’ve always had an immense fear of insects, regardless of their type (obviously, colourful butterflies and ladybugs are the exceptions because these two are cute; they have pretty privilege). Year after year I saw fewer and fewer cockroaches out in the wild, and it was quite bittersweet – from one point of view, God bless I don’t have to have a heart attack on my way home from school; from the other – where did they go? Are they dying? What is happening to these horrendous creatures? Can I help them?

But, after all these years of vaguely questioning myself about the death of insects and if I can, should and need to help them, I feel brought back to my childhood garden. Dear diary, Nicky Zimmermann made me feel like a fairy today. All these butterflies flew around me, stopped to take a breath, and then did it again. It felt unreal, eerie. I will forever miss this feeling – young me would say. To get to the point, Zimmermann’s new Spring-Summer 2027 collection KALEIDOSCOPE, presented at Paris Fashion Week, felt like how a thousand butterflies would lie down on you on a summer morning when the air smells like maple syrup.

The butterfly motif was used with the intention of representing ephemerality, fleeting moments, strength and the always-changing states and seasons of nature. But the meanings of these symbols are broad, and this collection raised a lot of questions for me. The first one circles back to the introduction: are insects dying? It might be just a hypothesis, but the use of the insect might also create some space in the well-known debate on climate change. The label has a long background of trying to find ways to act and create a more intentional and sustainable environment through their projects and goals for 2050. An emerging theme is how these butterflies appear on the clothes. Butterflies are generally solitary insects throughout their life, but in this collection, they are used as a collective. For me, this might be a call to realise the weight and importance of communities in our lives while still understanding the beauty of each life as it is. If the label were to use only one butterfly on each dress, made in the same effect, it would be maybe a small motif, a signature, but in this case the feeling is overwhelming. The butterfly is shown throughout its lifespan as a worker, and lace panels cut with floral details were placed in a way that resembled the delicate pattern work of a real-life butterfly. On some pieces, the insects are sculptural, and on others they are barely there. These stages emphasise the change of nature, the metamorphosis.

The colours used in this collection are earthy, warm, welcoming, peaceful. They are colours that you can easily find in a garden with butterflies. The inspiration was clear. My personal favourite was one of the darkest appearances from this collection, a dark brown maxi dress with floral lace details and waves made from material scraps. The dress highlights the shape of the body in an alluring manner, reminding me of Gaia, the goddess of Earth from Greek Mythology.

The silhouettes are classical for the label, but were slightly reinterpreted for this collection. With a mix of structure and flowiness from the materials used, the overall vibe was airy, soft, and like everything is floating into place. Experimenting was a key process in the creation of KALEIDOSCOPE, every piece is a great example of reinventing the archive. The shape of the clothes was enhanced through an amazing choice of accessories – bags and scarves. Both following the theme of butterflies and surrounding nature, they created a moment on their own. I’m a big fan of the scarves wrapped around the wrist. It looks chic and timeless but would also survive the spring-summer weather and could be transformed into another addition to the outfit, such as a bolero. The show was held in the historical Le Carreau du Temple in Paris. The space was white and grey, leaving the spectators with a feeling of being in a sanitary place. In the centre, the temporary walls formed a natural form, like the interior of a cocoon, leaving only a small viewpoint for the people in the front rows. All these little details formed the bigger picture of the KALEIDOSCOPE – being able to see patterns and colours changing constantly from one’s point of view.

I feel like this is the meaning of fashion: to raise questions and hypotheses, to start conversations (even uncomfortable ones), and to provide a possible dreamland in which to find yourself when you are tired of everything I’ve stated before. Kudos for everything, Zimmermann. Very powerful wings.