Lisa Barron OAM reveals the key to success in a career spanning four decades and counting.
They say it takes ten thousand hours of dedicated practice and experience to master your craft. I have been doing just that for 350,640 hours, or in other words, forty years. But it’s not just hours that lead to success. It’s an unwavering dedication surpassing the desire for success or your name in lights.
I haven’t spent over forty years of my life dedicated to fashion because I wanted accolades or media attention; the acknowledgments I have received in my career are by-products of my desire to create pieces that last, that real women feel confident in, that fit every type of body. In my opinion, that is what makes a master, not the desire to be renowned but that deep-seated need to do justice to your passions.
My business is where it is today because I did things on my terms, in my own way, from the very beginning. I forged a path, lined it with exquisite fabrics and walked it with flair, ignoring the expected and what the trendsetters say is ‘in’ this season. I want to share with you some of the moments, decisions and methods that helped me get to where I am today.
Inspiration from anywhere
I was raised in the most isolated city in the world. Perth, WA. It was here that my dream of being a fashion designer sparked. Still, considering I was thousands of kilometres away from the fashion and culture capitals of the world, I had to get creative when it came to finding my inspiration because it wasn’t walking down the streets of Fremantle.
The 1970s brought forth new and exciting ideas and developments, and my portal to them was my television and, more specifically, music videos. I became enamoured and obsessed with the likes of Deborah Harry, the New York Dolls, Iggy Pop and David Bowie, especially their clothes. At the time, leopard vinyl miniskirts with matching animal print socks and tight vinyl pants were impossible to find at the mainstream boutiques and stores near me. So, I had no other option than to make them myself, kicking off my dreams of doing this for a living.
Although my designs have changed drastically since then, I will never forget my first inspirations and how they started me on my journey. Keep your mind and eyes open because true inspiration can strike in the most unprecedented ways.
Be your own education
Education is a funny thing. It can often be seen as something that can only be achieved in an institution, but I firmly believe that is not the case. After discovering my affinity for making tight-fitting vinyl garments with far too many safety pins, I began engaging with the punk scene of Perth, designing clothes for the bands on stage and for myself to wear to the gigs.
Teaching myself with every piece I made. However, a part of me craved a more structured learning experience, so I enrolled in a three-year fashion course. I lasted eighteen months. I quickly realised the time I spent arguing with lecturers about why I couldn’t spray paint garments with a car airbrush machine could be spent on more extraordinary things. This was my true awakening, realising that much in life is set up to hold you back and slow you down, and what I dreamed could only be actualised if I was in control of my own destiny.
This doesn’t mean drop out of university and ignore institutionalised education. It simply means that learning can come from anything and everything, and that should always be encouraged.
Break Away
The label began to take on its true form when I moved to Melbourne at the age of twenty-one with no more than a suitcase, a sewing machine and $500. From day dot, I only worked for myself, growing my brand and vision from the ground up with the help of a tight and dedicated team as the years went on. I realise now that conducting my business this way made some things challenging, as every venture and move came from my own pocket, not from investors or parent companies as many brands had in the hedonistic 80s and 90s. Nonetheless, this also meant that every lesson I learned from a misstep forged a mindset of resilience and positivity. If you make a mistake on your own dime, there is a very good chance you will never make that mistake again.
Breaking away from what is comfortable and what is well-known can often lead to so much more. Having the courage to do that and move away is sometimes precisely what is needed for growth. And this may not be a place. It might be a mindset. It might be a person or a job. Take the leap. It is always worth it.
Keep your eyes on the cutting table
I attribute a few things to staying in business for this long, but one of the most prevalent is that I have always endeavoured to keep my eyes on my own cutting table and the women who walk through my doors. Trends will always be around; magazines and celebrities will always dictate what is “in” and what is “out”. I have chosen to ignore this. What matters to me is creating clothing that makes my customers feel good, clothes that make them feel confident and powerful. Trends have played little role in that.
Listening to your gut and your customers will always be more powerful than following what is “cool” these days. It’s also a surefire way to stay true to yourself and your own aspirations, leading to a more satisfying level of success and accomplishment.
Small is beautiful
Running a small business is no walk in the park; it takes ingenuity, craft, heart and a range of skills. I have never sold to colossal department stores or desired to open twenty boutiques across the country. The need to touch every fabric, run small, distinctive collections, and meet and see the customers who walk through my doors has always been more important. To this day, my cutting table has never been more than thirty meters from the shop floor, and my garments have always been made in Melbourne. Being %100 Australian Made is something I am incredibly proud of, and it strongly supports my need to keep production close. It’s about connection. In our new Armadale location, only glass walls divide the shop from the workroom, exposing my dedicated team working behind the scenes.
I have always wanted to be in the thick of it, not sitting behind a desk and delegating. I truly believe this level of involvement is more important than being “big” and following what the industry traditionally deems successful.
Celebrate everything
If the only things we celebrate are the big wins, then life wouldn’t be particularly exciting, would it? Of course, my team and I relish the fashion shows, parties and significant milestones. But I have always intended to harbour a culture that also celebrates the small things. That might be finding a beautiful fabric and brainstorming what gorgeous thing we can create with it, seeing a mother of the bride beam in her new dress, or even just a great day of sales.
Small business is tricky. It always will be. So, celebrating everything, the small and the big wins, makes all the difference.
Grateful
I know, I know. It’s cheesy. But gratitude goes so far and does much more than some of the top “business advice”. Without gratitude, you begin to take things for granted and lose touch with the reality of your life, business, and dreams. I have a lot to be grateful for. My family, my incredible team, the supermodels who have walked my runway (Helena Christianson, Claudia Schiffer, Linda Evangelista, to name a few), my long-time muse Nicky Buckley and the ‘love heart on the tummy dress’ that cemented our partnership, the Australian fashion industry, my beautiful customers and of course, the incredible wholesale boutiques who have built a market for my brand, as I have in my store, and helped bring my designs to the rest of Australia and beyond. Gratitude allows me to keep pushing and dreaming while looking back with fondness and nostalgia.
Final Word
I like to think I have redefined the word success to fit my interpretation of it. There is no singular threshold that must be reached to deem yourself successful, you can decide that on your own terms, and I strongly advice that you do, because it will make every win, big or small, feel more satisfying.