Dreams of Desert Surfing in Zimmermann Spring 2025 Campaign with Abeny Nhial AOC Fashion

In August 2023, Zimmermann [IG] became Australia’s first billion-dollar fashion brand. Sisters Nicky and Simone Zimmermann, who launched the their label in 1991, smiled all the way to the bank after selling a majority stake in their company to Boston-based Advent International. The private equity group valued Zimmermann at $1.15b USD.

In short order, Zimmermann opened its first Middle East boutique in Dubai — a store that quickly became its number one store in the world, as reported in September 2024 by Vogue Business.

It makes sense now that AOC has struggled to discuss the gorgeous Zimmermann 2025 Ad Campaign, featuring model Abeny Nhial as inspired by the ‘70s cult surfing film ‘Morning of the Earth’. Not until Anne queried ‘desert surfing’ was AOC in sync with Benny Horne’s exquisite Zimmermann campaign images shot in Morocco.

Welcome to Desert Surfing

Desert surfing might sound like a paradox, but imagine harnessing the raw, unyielding energy of the desert dunes to create a thrilling adventure akin to ocean surfing. This innovative concept is transforming the vast, arid landscapes into unexpected playgrounds for aficionados of extreme sports.

AOC hasn’t dug deeply enough into desert surfing to know if environmentalists are having a heart attack — but we can understand if they are.

Conceptually, desert dunes have long captured the human imagination with their striking landscapes and haunting beauty. In the Arab world, these natural formations hold significant physical and cultural importance.

Dunes as Vibrant Eco-Systems

Physically, desert dunes are sculpted by the winds that shape and shift them into ever-changing formations. These vast expanses are not merely barren wastelands; they are vibrant ecosystems that support unique forms of life adapted to the harsh climatic conditions, including resilient plant species and a variety of desert-dwelling animals.

The shifting sands also serve as a geomorphological record, offering insights into climatic changes and wind patterns over centuries. AOC is desperately concerned about losing the stories of our humanity by not manifesting extreme care of nature in these deserts, and we will ask these questions about Wadi Adventure Park in Al Ain, United Arab Emirates and Yas Waterworld in Abu Dhabi.

It’s not the case that the Arab world isn’t a leader in conservation efforts.

Perhaps the UAE can convince America’s Trump administration that climate change is for real. So, pack up your surfboards, because we’re headed into the desert surfing world very soon, to see what we can learn.

And keep in mind that these magnificent images of Abeny Nhial, wearing Zimmermann’s Illuminate Macramé Gown, capture the very contradictions expressed in the 21st century reality of desert surfing. Properly-lined for a more modest audience than Hollywood, the Illuminate’s DNA is in perfect sync with new fashion waves being created in the ‘foreign lands’ of Zimmermann’s most successful store. ~ Anne