As activewear continues to be one of the fastest growing industries and in conjunction with the launch of her new book, Inspired, Gold Coast City business women soaked up the wisdom of the woman who single-handedly revolutionised women’s fitness clothing this week at a Business Chicks breakfast at QT.
When Lorna Jane Clarkson began designing and sewing activewear from home 26 years ago she couldn’t have envisioned the empire the Lorna Jane brand is today.
“I began designing activewear because I wanted women to workout more,” she says. “It was never my intention to build a brand.”
What began as a side business when she was working as a fitness instructor in North Queensland, Lorna Jane has grown from her first store in Brisbane in 1990 to 200 stores globally – including at Gold Coast City’s premier shopping destination, Robina Town Centre – and is stocked in 54 countries.
The active living advocate says although she started designing activewear to get more women moving, her brand is just as much about inspiring people and explains that “health is the new wealth and success is happiness.”
“The definition of active living is about getting more out of life by giving more everyday,” she says.
One of her biggest priorities has always been listening to her customers and what they want, so for Lorna Jane social media plays a major role in brand development.
Her first book, Move, Nourish, Believe, was a result of throwing it out to social media to collect feedback on what her audience wanted to learn from her.
In her latest book – her first coffee table book – Inspired, Lorna offers advice on finding one’s personal style, dreaming big and balance, as well as recipes, beauty tips and features of iconic women who inspire.
Business Chicks was created to bring like-minded women together, to “meet people we’d never otherwise meet, and have conversations we may never have had.”
Lorna’s advice for this room full of inspired women: “Find what you love to do and you’ll be successful. Love what you do. Find what you’re passionate about and go for it. You can’t live your life with regrets.”
