Lisa Gorman – Fashion designer/environmentalist
Fashion is a passion in Melbourne. Talent, hard work and an original design style have transformed designer Lisa Gorman from nurse to fashion icon in the space of a decade. Her Gorman label is sold in numerous quality outlets. She has six of her own stores in Melbourne plus two interstate and one online. She exports to Japan, Singapore, Indonesia and the USA.
Lisa Gorman grew up in Warrnambool, the oldest of four fashion-fascinated sisters. Lisa moved to Melbourne and trained as a nurse, but never lost her passion for creating clothing. Eventually she returned to it, and entered the industry to work retail before starting her own label, Gorman, in 1999. Two of her housemates were opening a designer wear shop called Fat and invited her to make an exhibition-style collection. Fat became a major success and Gorman the business has grown steadily ever since.
Lisa describes Gorman garments as fresh, clean, a little adventurous. "The wearer wears the clothes rather than the clothes dominating the wearer," Lisa says. "They are modern, even youthful, designed to work with our lifestyles."
The most notable recent development has been the launch of the Gorman Organic collection. This is sustainable fashion, a marriage of two passions: clothing and the environment. "I've been interested in environmental issues for a long time, but my position was personal until we decided to do it as a brand."
