Designer Lisa Gorman will depart the business that bears her surname after twenty-two years.
Gorman has achieved cult status over the years in Australia, with fans trading and reselling popular garments online through dedicated Facebook groups.
The Guardian wrote “founded in 1999, Gorman sold to local conglomerate Factory X – which also owns high street stores Dangerfield, Princess Highway and Jack London – in 2010. Since the sale, the brand has expanded to over 50 bricks and mortar stores, including dedicated children’s boutiques, and also retails online.”
“The Gorman label has achieved a level of recognition within the Australian fashion landscape that I could not have imagined,” Gorman said in a statement.
“I thank those that made it happen. My incredible design team, all my staff, partners and the 114 artists I have had the pleasure of collaborating with over two decades. Most of all I thank my loyal customers who have supported the label from its ‘fishing pants’ beginnings.”
The designers’ time at the brand was not without controversy.
The brand’s main ethos was it’s commitment to being socially and environmentally conscious, but in 2016 the factory of the brand’s parent company received a failing score on the annual Baptist World Aid Ethical Fashion Report.
Speaking with Guardian Australia in 2019, Gorman described the grade as “extraordinarily unfair” – the F score was given because Factory X did not collaborate with the report’s researchers, not because of concrete findings of misdeeds.
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