Australian Designer Carla Zampatti Dies at 78 a Week After Fall at the Opera

Australian fashion designer Carla Zampatti has died. She was 78.

Zampatti died Saturday morning at St Vincent's Hospital in Sydney after she fell while attending an opera opening last week, the Sydney Morning Herald reported.

The outlet reported that she fell down the last two steps of a staircase the previous Friday at the opening night of La Traviata at Mrs Macquarie's Point, prompting her to lose consciousness.

Zampatti's family confirmed her death on the designer's website.

Born in Italy in 1942, Zampatti moved to Australia with her family in 1950 and then moved to Sydney in her twenties. She launched her first collection in 1965 and established Carla Zampatti Pty Ltd five years later.

"Carla has long been celebrated for making Australian women feel confident and elegant through her exceptional design, tailoring and understanding of the modern woman," the family's statement said.

She went on to establish herself as one of Australia's most influential designers.

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Zampatti dressed many important women, including former Australian prime minister Julia Gillard, Denmark's Princess Mary, New South Wales premier Gladys Berejiklian and Nicole Kidman, according to The Guardian.

Australia's Prime Minister Scott Morrison said the designer's contribution to the nation was "timeless, just like her designs."

"Carla was an icon to the fashion industry, a pioneer as an entrepreneur and a champion of multicultural Australia," Morrison said.

Zampatti's daughter Bianca Spender shared a tribute to her mother on Instagram Saturday.

"💔 today I lost my mother, my inspiration, my mentor and my friend," she wrote, sharing a photo of the mother-daughter duo as well as a throwback photo. "I am lost for words and totally heartbroken."

Zampatti is also survived by son Alexander Schuman and daughter Allegra Spender and her exes Leo Schuman and John Spender, as well as nine grandchildren.

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