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What I've Learnt - Lisa Barron · WHAT I'VE LEARNT

• 0:01
  SPEAKER_01: As spring fashion looms large against the backdrop of this brave new world, creative fashion designers like Lisa Baron are at the optimistic helm, as always, championing her beautiful Australian designs with her original Australian designer collection, in fact, worn by everyone from Lynn Evangelista, Claudia Schiffer and Helena Christensen in the 80s, through to Australian fashionist as Sir Felene Beachley and an array of renowned artists, musicians and presenters.
• 0:30
  SPEAKER_01: Lisa's designs have also been showcased to every Melbourne fashion festival since its inception.
• 0:37
  SPEAKER_01: With$500 and a portable sewing machine, Lisa set up a garage business in Melbourne, designing, sewing and selling the collections to iconic fashion retailers through the 80s and 90s, saw the label become a strong player in the Australian fashion industry.
• 0:54
  SPEAKER_01: The label is proudly made in Australia and Lisa is a strong supporter of local manufacturing.
• 1:00
  SPEAKER_01: Lisa sits on the advisory board of Creative Victoria and is a founding Australian member of the International Women's Forum.
• 1:08
  SPEAKER_01: Well, it's a strange time for Australian fashion.
• 1:11
  SPEAKER_01: Many shopping strips seem desolate as some retailers thrive in the online world while others flounder.
• 1:18
  SPEAKER_01: But Lisa's pretty positive and hopes and praise the iconic Melbourne Spring Carnival will go ahead as she reflects on an era that is like no other.
• 1:26
  SPEAKER_01: We still need to create, dress up, celebrate, and feel glamorous.
• 1:32
  SPEAKER_01: So Lisa, welcome to the What I've Learned podcast.
• 1:36
  SPEAKER_01: Hello, Deb.
• 1:37
  SPEAKER_01: Thanks for having me.
• 1:38
  SPEAKER_01: Pleasure.
• 1:39
  SPEAKER_01: Well, I must say I've been loving dressing up in your beautiful designs, featured on my Instagram, and had some fabulous uh responses.
• 1:48
  SPEAKER_01: People love your work.
• 1:49
  SPEAKER_01: How have you been traveling?
• 1:51
  SPEAKER_01: And uh just tell me, do women still want to dress up like I do?
• 1:55
  SPEAKER_00: Oh, well, it's everything.
• 1:57
  SPEAKER_00: And I probably want to preface that we are, as we're discussing today, we're sitting in our sixth lockdown.
• 2:04
  SPEAKER_00: There is still, you know, a lot of positivity around, but yes, it's a very difficult time, probably one of the most difficult times in my 38-year career.
• 2:14
  SPEAKER_00: But I believe women do want to dress up absolutely.
• 2:18
  SPEAKER_00: There's a joy in life that it's hard to make that go away.
• 2:21
  SPEAKER_00: So I know from the periods we've opened up from lockdown, it's the first thing women want to do.
• 2:27
  SPEAKER_00: Whether it's a dinner out, it's it's something that's celebrated, it's special, whether girls are getting together to have a champagne night at each other's house.
• 2:36
  SPEAKER_00: Yes, I do think women will continue and always want to, you know, dress up and and and feel great.
• 2:42
  SPEAKER_01: It's actually true what you say though, also.
• 2:44
  SPEAKER_01: I think the minute lockdown lifts and all the little gaps we've had during our six lockdowns, you're right.
• 2:50
  SPEAKER_01: The first thing is people want to go to that dinner or go around to a friend's for a drink, or, you know, there are a lot of obviously special occasions and a lot of your um dresses are for special occasions.
• 3:01
  SPEAKER_01: I know that there's a lot of people that just can't wait to get in, get that sequence, get that lace, get that beautiful fabric, that silk, that satin.
• 3:09
  SPEAKER_01: Do you think that we are not going to just end up back in our trackies?
• 3:15
  SPEAKER_01: Because I actually think I'll be a bit devastated if that happens.
• 3:19
  SPEAKER_00: No, I think that it's like anything.
• 3:21
  SPEAKER_00: There's a time and place for everything.
• 3:23
  SPEAKER_00: And yes, there's times we want to cocoon up and be comfortable in our in our homewares, whatever, whether it's glamorous or it's daggy.
• 3:32
  SPEAKER_00: But I think there is no it's human nature to want to present, to preen, to, you know, fluff.
• 3:41
  SPEAKER_00: And when you've worn something beautiful and you know how great you look, it's kind of like a drug.
• 3:46
  SPEAKER_00: So you kind of really will go back to um, you know, putting on those beautiful, beautiful things that you know are going to make you feel fabulous.
• 3:55
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, I do agree with you though.
• 3:56
  SPEAKER_01: I think it is the human condition, you know, if you look at sort of everywhere across the world, no matter what culture, we do like to dress up.
• 4:04
  SPEAKER_01: But look, it is a challenging time for most labels.
• 4:07
  SPEAKER_01: And I suppose you're not alone in the sense that you know that there's a strong camaraderie, particularly around all of the labels.
• 4:14
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, you just have to go through Chapel Street, Bridge Road, High Street, all of the major Melbourne shopping precincts, um, and Sydney's the same.
• 4:22
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, I've spoken to some pretty high-end brands there who are just saying it's been quite a smashing.
• 4:28
  SPEAKER_01: However, is it a smashing for everyone?
• 4:30
  SPEAKER_01: And do you think while there are many labels trying to sort of stabilize and find their footing in this brave new world, there are others that seem to be adapting extremely well.
• 4:41
  SPEAKER_01: What's your thoughts on that?
• 4:43
  SPEAKER_00: Um, it has been really interesting watching the adaptations of certain labels.
• 4:48
  SPEAKER_00: Yes, some do it very well, and some have shifted to the homewares during our long, long lockdowns, which was wonderful.
• 4:54
  SPEAKER_00: Um, but their product line would have been pretty close to that originally.
• 4:59
  SPEAKER_00: Um, for a special occasion, and I do a lot of um, you know, corporate suiting.
• 5:04
  SPEAKER_00: Um it's really hard to turn that into something that is, you know, a super homewares kind of line.
• 5:12
  SPEAKER_00: I think what helps a lot of labels is yes, you have to shift a little.
• 5:17
  SPEAKER_00: Like I know that a lot of my clients who may be presenting to teams of employees still want to look, look polished and tailored on screen.
• 5:27
  SPEAKER_00: So I made a lot of my jackets um softer, so they might be unlined or they might have been out of a really nice knit jacquard, something like that.
• 5:35
  SPEAKER_00: So it still shifted a little, but I couldn't sell out my brand identity.
• 5:42
  SPEAKER_00: So, you know, I I've I've kept it to what I believe in, and I luckily over my career I have incredibly loyal clients who have supported um the brand.
• 5:54
  SPEAKER_00: So, really, without them, I don't know if we would have survived.
• 5:58
  SPEAKER_00: So I really feel for brands who may not have been in the industry for very long and haven't built up that that loyalty because you know I had a lot of people through lockdown buying things I knew they didn't need.
• 6:11
  SPEAKER_00: I knew or possibly didn't even fit them, but they bought them and they were just so wonderful.
• 6:16
  SPEAKER_00: And I just knew that I knew why they were doing it.
• 6:19
  SPEAKER_01: And that's quite beautiful, actually.
• 6:21
  SPEAKER_01: And it's it's sort of a bit of a goosebumps moment because I think one of the things that I've really ascertained is the sense of the village and sense of community and the way whether it's all of the food and hospitality local businesses who are being supported by locals through to the sort of fashionists or people like you're referring to who know that at the end of the day, if they don't come and buy one of your beautiful outfits, that there's a limit to how much anybody, no matter how brilliant they are, can be sustainable.
• 6:53
  SPEAKER_01: And so have you found that there's been clearly you've had great support from loyal customers.
• 6:58
  SPEAKER_01: What about other fashion outlets and brands and you know, even the high street precinct or you know, the the the city precinct, for example, must have been completely, I can't even imagine what that must be like to have a store there right now.
• 7:12
  SPEAKER_00: The difference, I think the difference of you know, the city to where I am in High Street Armadale, which does have a beautiful village feel to it, you know, I see the cues outside all the cafes, and it's really heartwarming to see that because even buying it one coffee a day from your favourite cafe has been enough to keep them going.
• 7:32
  SPEAKER_00: I think the awareness has really, really developed.
• 7:35
  SPEAKER_00: I think a lot of people over the years talk about supporting local or sustainability or Australian made, but how much they would actually activate that belief, I sometimes was skeptical if I'd see, you know, a bit of an HM kind of style going on, yet the rhetoric was all about Australian made, you know.
• 7:56
  SPEAKER_00: So I would be hesitant to really believe that a lot of this was going, you know, that that's how people were behaving.
• 8:04
  SPEAKER_00: I think that's changed a lot, and we're definitely seeing um people supporting because I think they've lost a lot of their favourites, you know, favorite restaurants are closing, a lot of brands, clothing brands um have been closing, and we're going to see a lot more of it too, I think.
• 8:18
  SPEAKER_01: And also I think that disposable, accessible, extremely cheap fashion, which from had has had its moment in the sun.
• 8:27
  SPEAKER_01: And I think, well, I do think there are obviously some people that still access it, but it doesn't have that beautiful bespoke, intimate, luxurious feel.
• 8:35
  SPEAKER_01: Whether you're young or whether you're old, it's still or older, it's it's still something that is a trade and a specialty and something to be valued.
• 8:44
  SPEAKER_01: And I think that's sort of what you're talking about, is there's still an important place for that bespoke trade, which is really, as you said, you know, you I mean, we talked about you started with that sewing machine quite literally.
• 8:56
  SPEAKER_01: And and in some ways, you know, and when I come and pop in to see you, I love it that, you know, you're on the floor and there's all these, it's very, you feel like you are part of a village and that you are there doing the work, designing and very hands-on.
• 9:10
  SPEAKER_01: That is sort of irreplaceable, and we really don't want to lose that in all of our industries, but particularly in fashion.
• 9:17
  SPEAKER_01: If it just becomes this sort of monolithic online supermarket, I think, I think people are, there's a little bit of backlash to that, not to mention the sustainability issue, which is another one and the ethical production, etc., which is a huge topic in itself.
• 9:32
  SPEAKER_01: What are your thoughts around that?
• 9:34
  SPEAKER_00: Um, I love the whole shift from those huge organizations that you speak of, you know, and it could be a current affairs show showing the masses and piles of, you know, wasted clothing that our world um contributes to.
• 9:52
  SPEAKER_00: So for me, the push against that was the moving of my store, which I was 18 years in one store in High Street Armadale, and you know, the pandemic made it difficult.
• 10:03
  SPEAKER_00: And I thought I need to find something else for various reasons.
• 10:07
  SPEAKER_00: So, you know, two-minute walk down the road, I found a fabulous store and with very different layout, and I thought this is an opportunity to really showcase what I believe and a new concept in the whole movement of clothing, seeing it made, it being made in front of you.
• 10:24
  SPEAKER_00: So I put glass walls in the store, and behind those glass walls is my workroom and my sewing machine with my beautiful machinist who's worked for me for 27 years.
• 10:35
  SPEAKER_00: And, you know, it's had an incredible response for the few weeks we've been open when people would come into this gorgeous um store carrying, you know, incredibly beautiful and intricate um garments made, and um, being able to peek through the glass walls to see the behind the scenes.
• 10:55
  SPEAKER_00: And I would love to see more of that.
• 10:57
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, so many of our beautiful small labels are made locally, and we know that, but to actually see it is so powerful.
• 11:04
  SPEAKER_01: And I would agree with you 100%, and it's something that really resonated with me when I did come into your store, and I didn't actually fully appreciate until you've just outlined it how purposeful that was, but it's so effective because it does, it makes you feel you're sort of part of the process, and then it's there's an authenticity that I think that that we need to hold on to, which is what you represent.
• 11:27
  SPEAKER_01: And that's what I think we need to make sure that we hold on to.
• 11:30
  SPEAKER_01: And I suppose that's one of the positives to come out of this crisis is, and you know, there are a few, not a lot, but there are a few.
• 11:38
  SPEAKER_01: And maybe that's one of them.
• 11:39
  SPEAKER_01: Maybe it's driving us back to that very organic, authentic way of creating.
• 11:45
  SPEAKER_01: And I certainly think that's something that you seem to be developing and certainly showcasing.
• 11:51
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, you've seen it all over the past 30 years in fashion.
• 11:54
  SPEAKER_01: How has this sort of time changed the industry generally?
• 11:59
  SPEAKER_00: But it's actually quite hard for me to speak about the industry as a whole because the fashion industry is not a super cohesive one.
• 12:09
  SPEAKER_00: You know, everyone works in their little silos and it's not as collaborative as one would think or one would like it to be.
• 12:18
  SPEAKER_00: And I've kind of followed my own path too.
• 12:20
  SPEAKER_00: I have not intentionally not engaged, but it's not as easy to engage, and it can be quite clicky.
• 12:29
  SPEAKER_00: And when I came over from Perth, you know, I I kind of I just had this dream.
• 12:34
  SPEAKER_00: You know, I was probably a little bit cold and brazen thinking I was going to move to the east to become a fashion designer.
• 12:42
  SPEAKER_00: So there was probably a little bit of insecurity in me too, you know, whether or not I would just front up at, you know, fashion events and mingle with the, you know, the superstars.
• 12:54
  SPEAKER_00: Um, so it it kind of makes me sad that there's not more of a cohesive and collaborative um element to it.
• 13:01
  SPEAKER_00: But we're hoping that will change.
• 13:03
  SPEAKER_00: We've got wonderful organizations like FASH Lab, run by Janice Green Burns, who was the editor of The Age for 20 odd years.
• 13:12
  SPEAKER_00: So she's pulling together a really wonderful group of different um creative disciplines: photographers, um, designers, artists, illustrators, fashion school um people.
• 13:25
  SPEAKER_00: And I just I love that.
• 13:27
  SPEAKER_00: So, you know, I learn a lot.
• 13:28
  SPEAKER_00: I love seeing what the emerging designers are doing, if I can help advise them.
• 13:33
  SPEAKER_00: But, you know, an organization like that is great because it it it cross-mentors, you know, and everyone gets something out of it.
• 13:40
  SPEAKER_00: So I hope to see things like that because you know, we certainly, those who've been through it and made mistakes, can hopefully guide younger ones so we can have a really healthy and robust fashion industry in the future.
• 13:53
  SPEAKER_01: What do you think it will look like for the next generation?
• 13:57
  SPEAKER_00: I think that bricks and mortar are still really, really important.
• 14:01
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, as we touched upon before, you know, shopping online.
• 14:04
  SPEAKER_00: I feel this period of people doing a lot of shopping online and being incredibly disappointed when the um package arrives and the fabric is very average or the fit is for a different body type than the Australian woman.
• 14:18
  SPEAKER_00: I think we're going to see a lot more people not risking their money online and coming into store.
• 14:25
  SPEAKER_00: But in saying that, a lot of research is done online.
• 14:29
  SPEAKER_00: So I have, you know, a lot of customers, even though I'm not a particularly um, you know, online purchasing kind of label, people do a lot of research before they come in.
• 14:40
  SPEAKER_00: And I just love that.
• 14:42
  SPEAKER_00: And that's, you know, thanks to my team, they're clever, clever young things who try to make sure the website looks great.
• 14:49
  SPEAKER_00: So we get them in the door and they come in with their list that they've seen on the website and um try on and and buy.
• 14:56
  SPEAKER_00: So I think when you say the hybrid, that's what we're going to see is you have to have a fantastic online presence, but I can't see bricks and mortar disappearing as that, you know, fearful rhetoric happened, you know, five, ten years ago.
• 15:11
  SPEAKER_00: And, you know, I I was getting so annoyed because I thought if I go to another fashion business seminar where they tell me if I don't have a widget for everything, Pinterest, you know, the Facebook, all of them, there were 10 of them, you will fail.
• 15:24
  SPEAKER_00: And I thought I didn't have any of them, but I watched a lot of people spending a lot of their work time making sure they had all these platforms running and they didn't survive.
• 15:34
  SPEAKER_00: So I think it's common sense using your gut, making sure you know who your market is, where they're looking, and where they're shopping.
• 15:42
  SPEAKER_01: That is a very valid point, I think, because actually, as you say, I mean, you know, that experience you just outlined where you know you do the online shop and we've all done it, or I've certainly done it, where it turns up and you go, oh wait, like this isn't tailored.
• 15:56
  SPEAKER_01: Like what happened?
• 15:56
  SPEAKER_01: Like it looks so nice, and then you and then there's the whole return thing, and it's just exhausting.
• 16:02
  SPEAKER_01: And maybe some people are better at it than me, but I'm I'm much I'm in I'm in the bricks and mortar camp, although I do see the research aspect is really useful, but I do take your point.
• 16:12
  SPEAKER_01: And I also think that um I think the online world can also be a bit of a Wild West.
• 16:18
  SPEAKER_01: So you can get absolutely everything and everyone selling on that platform without having to really have quality measures in place.
• 16:27
  SPEAKER_01: And I think that is a very good point because while some of the bigger outlets do, there is a whole raft of other outlets that you just go, what is going on?
• 16:37
  SPEAKER_01: It really is like a wild frontier.
• 16:39
  SPEAKER_01: So I think what you're saying is you're sticking to what you know, what you do best, and that that's your advice for young designers coming up through the ranks, that that can be a really good thing.
• 16:53
  SPEAKER_01: Find your groove in a sense and and hone it and be good at what you do, and it will translate.
• 16:59
  SPEAKER_00: True.
• 17:00
  SPEAKER_00: Um, it's really hard to know because I believe you have to know who you're designing for.
• 17:05
  SPEAKER_00: And if you've only got an online presence, I don't know where the engagement with your customers happen.
• 17:11
  SPEAKER_00: For me, I know when I'm putting a collection together, I'm thinking of just about a combination of every client that has walked in my store.
• 17:20
  SPEAKER_00: And every piece of advice they've given me and every one of their design ideas, because everyone wants to be a designer, you know, I want a low neck, a high neck, I want a sleeve, I don't want a sleeve, I need to, you know, be able to hide my hips, I need to be able to do blah, blah, blah, and so on.
• 17:36
  SPEAKER_00: That detailing and the visual information you get from customers is invaluable as a designer.
• 17:44
  SPEAKER_00: So, you know, that's where when people ask me, where do you get your inspiration for collections?
• 17:49
  SPEAKER_00: It comes from my customers.
• 17:51
  SPEAKER_00: So it's that balance of I need all that information, and then I get creative to work out how how do I want them to look?
• 17:59
  SPEAKER_00: How do what do I want them to get excited about that will suit them?
• 18:05
  SPEAKER_00: Because there is no point making stunning dresses that no one wants.
• 18:11
  SPEAKER_00: You know, I don't know how it can just be done online.
• 18:15
  SPEAKER_01: Very it's sort of exciting to me if we can all move back.
• 18:19
  SPEAKER_01: This is a very important question.
• 18:21
  SPEAKER_01: You have a track record, you have your loyal customers, you certainly are strongly entrenched, and it's still the last 18 months, like for everyone, is challenging just because of the logistics of trying to not have a shop that's open and sell is pretty damn challenging.
• 18:38
  SPEAKER_01: But the sustainability for most businesses trying to offer that bespoke hands-on and as you say, engage with their customer, is that going to be sustainable as the industry gets revamped and revised and also impacted by this pandemic?
• 18:56
  SPEAKER_01: I don't know, Deb.
• 18:58
  SPEAKER_00: I could probably make a lot of money if I knew the answer to that question.
• 19:01
  SPEAKER_01: I don't know.
• 19:02
  SPEAKER_01: But uh you don't yeah, you don't know either.
• 19:04
  SPEAKER_01: But I suppose what you have said is what you do know is quality generally is sustainable if you're good at what you do.
• 19:13
  SPEAKER_01: That's really where you're coming from.
• 19:16
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 19:16
  SPEAKER_01: And do you think that um young, you think the young ones coming up will form a combination of both?
• 19:23
  SPEAKER_00: I think they have to.
• 19:25
  SPEAKER_00: Um, I mean, we we have some amazing stories of of labels that have succeeded online and on Instagram.
• 19:32
  SPEAKER_00: Um but we can't just say it's like anything we we call, you know, an actor a an overnight success.
• 19:39
  SPEAKER_00: I think for someone to be successful online only, they've done their research, their marketing is just right on the mark.
• 19:47
  SPEAKER_00: So it it can be done, but it's not easy.
• 19:51
  SPEAKER_00: And it like with anything, you know, people will see a shop open or a restaurant open and think, oh, I could do that.
• 19:57
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, not so sure.
• 19:59
  SPEAKER_01: Uh what sort of uh support do you think, and is it enough for what is happening to the industry?
• 20:07
  SPEAKER_00: Well, again, I think I'm I am a bit of a lone wolf, and I sometimes think that that has set me in good stead.
• 20:16
  SPEAKER_00: I don't get super involved with a lot of the fashion organizations.
• 20:21
  SPEAKER_00: I do find them probably not broad enough, and maybe I'm not cool enough.
• 20:26
  SPEAKER_00: Um, I don't know.
• 20:30
  SPEAKER_00: Thank you.
• 20:31
  SPEAKER_00: And but it's fine with me.
• 20:32
  SPEAKER_00: I'm very okay with that.
• 20:34
  SPEAKER_00: You know, um the conversation you had with David Brisken when he spoke about um business and you know, the creatives now, he's been a wonderful um support and um the business brain behind a lot of creatives, which is absolutely wonderful.
• 20:53
  SPEAKER_00: But if you can't afford a David Brisken, you kind of have to be both.
• 20:57
  SPEAKER_00: So, you know, I think that's where I sit too.
• 21:00
  SPEAKER_00: You know, I've had some really great mentors, and my mother being one of them, she's she's a very savvy businesswoman, and she's kind of made me, you know, think very carefully about how I approach business and don't overspend.
• 21:16
  SPEAKER_00: And and that was really hard in the 80s when you know I was hanging out in Chapel Street and watching brands who'd barely been born driving around in very fancy cars and having, you know, five shops, and and I thought, oh, I can't afford that, so I won't do that yet.
• 21:31
  SPEAKER_00: But if I sell enough dresses, maybe I can.
• 21:33
  SPEAKER_00: I've always kind of balanced that business side and that kind of conservatism in in approach to business, which has, you know, I think kept the brand alive.
• 21:44
  SPEAKER_00: But maybe I've sacrificed some of the creativity along the lines in that.
• 21:48
  SPEAKER_00: But if you if you don't have that balance, and I really stress that for young brands too, um, you have to watch what you're spending and where you're going.
• 21:57
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, don't go into every Event and every show that you've got to pay, you know, tens of thousands of dollars to be a part of if you don't think you're going to get anything out of it.
• 22:07
  SPEAKER_00: So it's having that sense of common sense.
• 22:10
  SPEAKER_01: That's very good advice, I think.
• 22:12
  SPEAKER_01: It's funny.
• 22:13
  SPEAKER_01: I noted that Brisbane had their fashion festival this week and everybody was out and about.
• 22:17
  SPEAKER_01: And I'm just like going, it's like they're on another planet.
• 22:20
  SPEAKER_01: Like, are they actually in Australia?
• 22:22
  SPEAKER_01: Because it's like everyone's twirling and whirling.
• 22:24
  SPEAKER_01: And how does that make you feel?
• 22:27
  SPEAKER_01: It is a particularly frustrating notion that those choices have at the moment being taken away.
• 22:33
  SPEAKER_01: As we, you and I have talked about, you're really hoping Spring Carnival will be some sort of showcase, but as it looms, we just don't know, do we?
• 22:41
  SPEAKER_00: We don't know.
• 22:41
  SPEAKER_00: Hopefully, with uh vaccination rates going up, we can have a Spring Carnival because the Spring Carnival is an absolutely amazing and wonderful event, not just for fashion, but for so many industries, you know, shoes, makeup, hair, millinery, um restaurants.
• 23:02
  SPEAKER_00: It's crucial to the economy.
• 23:04
  SPEAKER_00: I I know that, you know, when races and um, you know, the when Maya first, or not it wasn't Maya actually, when um the first fashion on the field started and a woman named Sue Lloyd Williams, who was with the VRC, bought it in, it absolutely changed, you know, the bottom dollar.
• 23:24
  SPEAKER_00: For that September-October spend in fashion stores just went through the roof because of the change of attitude and women dressing up for the races.
• 23:35
  SPEAKER_00: That was probably 25 years ago now, but it it's absolutely um essential to get these events back in happening, and it can.
• 23:43
  SPEAKER_00: You know, the races, grandstand, birdcage, all those areas could easily be um kept COVID safe, and you know, hopefully we'll see that happen.
• 23:55
  SPEAKER_00: But I'm not resentful at all for other states living their life.
• 24:00
  SPEAKER_00: I love seeing that.
• 24:01
  SPEAKER_00: You know, we're in a difficult situation here, and and I I kind of get torn.
• 24:07
  SPEAKER_00: You know, I understand why it's happening, but it's very difficult.
• 24:10
  SPEAKER_00: I will say I don't think there's enough support for small business from government.
• 24:15
  SPEAKER_00: I'd really like to see a little more understanding of what it takes to run a small business and keep your employees.
• 24:22
  SPEAKER_00: That makes me sad.
• 24:24
  SPEAKER_00: And it takes a lot to get me angry, but yeah, there's times I've been pretty angry that there's not more understanding and more support for small business.
• 24:33
  SPEAKER_00: We are the backbone of this country.
• 24:35
  SPEAKER_00: We employ anywhere between 75 and 80% of the population, which is a statistic that not many people understand.
• 24:44
  SPEAKER_00: And, you know, I heard a woman once who opened a small business seminar and said, if we all got up one morning and decided we don't want to do this anymore, 86% of the population would be unemployed.
• 24:57
  SPEAKER_00: And that was um pretty startling.
• 25:00
  SPEAKER_01: And I think you're right.
• 25:01
  SPEAKER_01: I think we're sort of like if you look at small business at the coalface, really, of so many other industries, but also you talk about the staff and you talk about, you know, there's something, you know, we all have great relationships where our staff are like family.
• 25:16
  SPEAKER_01: Most of us, if you run a small business like you and I do, I think that's also really important that we are probably not getting as much support as we'd like, but particularly in fashion, I think, you know, some, I feel like they're treated a little bit like peripheral, you know, to the core.
• 25:31
  SPEAKER_01: Okay, clearly you've got the fundamentals of shelter and food and those sorts of things.
• 25:37
  SPEAKER_01: And as we know right now in Sheppard and you know, it's very serious.
• 25:40
  SPEAKER_01: People don't can't eat, they don't have, they can't, their supermarkets are closed.
• 25:43
  SPEAKER_01: It's very quite scary to think this is happening in regional Victoria.
• 25:48
  SPEAKER_01: So I think one of the challenges for the fashion industry is that very issue that it's it's somewhat seen as peripheral, like, well, you know what, if you can't wear a beautiful dress, or you can't, but the truth is, as you've pointed out, it is intrinsic not only to how people feel, but also to the very industry and supporting employment.
• 26:08
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, we just have to stay on that.
• 26:10
  SPEAKER_01: And there's some very big advocates in the food industry who are very vocal.
• 26:14
  SPEAKER_01: Is there anybody in the fashion world that you see as spearheading some of the action in that regard?
• 26:20
  SPEAKER_01: Or do you think, I mean, there's no one that I think springs to mind.
• 26:22
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, I did have a great, as you mentioned, interview with David Brisken.
• 26:26
  SPEAKER_01: He was really, really impressive in terms of giving us context.
• 26:29
  SPEAKER_01: But that was actually a bit earlier on.
• 26:31
  SPEAKER_01: We weren't in lockdown six.
• 26:33
  SPEAKER_00: I realize that.
• 26:34
  SPEAKER_00: And I think organizations like the Australian Fashion Council, um, who are quite Sydney-centric, they are advocating a lot, which is wonderful.
• 26:43
  SPEAKER_00: But other organisations, just to go back to your point before about involvement within the industry, it's it's events like Spring Fashion Week and Melbourne Fashion Festival, which do an amazing job on bringing the awareness and showcasing, you know, our indigenous designers and our emerging designers, and you know, they're opening up their cultural events, back film fashion, etc.
• 27:08
  SPEAKER_00: It's the it they really are wonderful.
• 27:10
  SPEAKER_00: They bring the attention to the to the industry and to all those involved in it, and can't wait to get back to some of those events again.
• 27:20
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, me too.
• 27:21
  SPEAKER_01: I can't wait to.
• 27:22
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and we were just chatting earlier and we're talking about tapping resources.
• 27:27
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and you and I were talking about um, you know, I did a shoot with some of your um beautiful gowns, and my daughter, who's my photographer, took the shots, and you were telling me about uh your daughter.
• 27:41
  SPEAKER_01: Tell me a little bit about your new lookbook and what's coming up for Lisa Baron and how your beautiful daughter Elsa is, shall we say, star of the show.
• 27:49
  SPEAKER_01: And I want to hear about that.
• 27:51
  SPEAKER_01: Tell me about that.
• 27:52
  SPEAKER_00: She she certainly is, and I think growing up with a fashion design mother, you know, they wane between yes, it's cool, yes, you're very uncool, yes, you're cool.
• 28:01
  SPEAKER_00: I think by watching, you know, a mother going through the last year and a half and the difficulties, and you know, and and you're probably the same, Deb.
• 28:11
  SPEAKER_00: You know, you do your absolute best to stay positive, and you know, it'll all be fine, it'll just be a few weeks, and then it's a few months, and then it's a year.
• 28:20
  SPEAKER_00: Same, you know, and and they they feel it and they know.
• 28:26
  SPEAKER_00: And they know you, and they they know you too so well, don't they?
• 28:29
  SPEAKER_00: So you can't hide anything.
• 28:30
  SPEAKER_00: Yes.
• 28:31
  SPEAKER_00: And I have two gorgeous daughters, one's in LA, um, and which I she just came home for a month, which was wonderful.
• 28:39
  SPEAKER_00: And my other daughter, Elsa, she's a in advertising.
• 28:43
  SPEAKER_00: So modeling in fashion is not her her thing.
• 28:46
  SPEAKER_00: I think being in a similar industry, she knows that you know getting getting your product out there is crucial for your survival.
• 28:54
  SPEAKER_00: And it is for us, especially during lockdown.
• 28:56
  SPEAKER_00: And as we touched upon, the online presence is really, really important.
• 29:01
  SPEAKER_00: So getting shots and you know, photography and new release product online is really hard when when you're in lockdown and you can't photograph anything, you can't, you know, do a shoot as you normally would.
• 29:17
  SPEAKER_00: So she um, you know, we were just brainstorming about how we can do a few things, and you know, I hinted, well, you know, it'd be great if you would like to do that.
• 29:29
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, being a humble girl, she was like, Oh, I'm not gonna, you know, to model, but she um stepped up and we did a shoot the other week, and she was amazing.
• 29:41
  SPEAKER_00: She crossed the boundaries of being this cool rock chick with her guitar and in my suit jackets, which looked amazing.
• 29:50
  SPEAKER_00: And then she looked like a Dolce Vita 70s, you know, Italian Mediterranean icon.
• 29:57
  SPEAKER_00: It was just so wonderful.
• 29:59
  SPEAKER_00: It was probably the best fun shoot I've ever had, and it was so lovely to work with her and to see the effort and the understanding she put in to do this shoot for me.
• 30:11
  SPEAKER_01: I think, though, you raise a really important point, which is the positives out of this is that we're actually looking at different ways to do things.
• 30:19
  SPEAKER_01: That's a perfect case in point.
• 30:21
  SPEAKER_01: And actually, the relationships that we have, and I'm similar with my daughters, the idea of actually changing the dialogue and changing the way instead of it, because it is, it has been quite daunting on many fronts, but actually going, wait, we can we can actually adapt, be resilient, and find a way to create a new new medium, which really, well, it's not a new medium, it's an old medium, but it's it's utilizing different resources.
• 30:46
  SPEAKER_01: And the fact that she stepped up and out of the shadows and just went, yeah, okay, Mom, I'll do it.
• 30:53
  SPEAKER_01: Sounds like my daughter.
• 30:55
  SPEAKER_01: It's like, you know, in her own way.
• 30:56
  SPEAKER_01: It's like, but but that's okay because they can learn from us.
• 31:00
  SPEAKER_01: And if nothing else, if we can use this time to teach our our children and the the family members around us that we're okay.
• 31:09
  SPEAKER_01: It's yeah, it's tough, but there there are challenges, but there is a way through.
• 31:14
  SPEAKER_01: And as you said, it sounds like it was the best shoot you've done.
• 31:17
  SPEAKER_01: So how ironic.
• 31:19
  SPEAKER_00: It was it was great, but it's also really important to um that we they learn from us, but boy, I learn a lot, as I'm sure you do from your daughters.
• 31:29
  SPEAKER_00: You know, the perspective, the different attitudes, the approach.
• 31:33
  SPEAKER_00: It's it's so important, and and that and that's probably something that I really search out in life is that you know, diversity of people, and it's probably why I don't really hang out with a lot of the fashion industry, because there's so many incredible people out there.
• 31:49
  SPEAKER_00: A lot of them are my customers because I do spend a lot of time at work, but you know, getting to know people of such different um backgrounds and and attitudes and approaches to life and advice, it's it's one of the greatest joys in life for me is finding out people's stories, as obviously you do too, you know, and just getting to know people from a different level.
• 32:13
  SPEAKER_01: I absolutely look, I'm on board with that because to be honest, through this this I mean this podcast has been very much in theme with that, which is just listening to these extraordinary stories from people and learning so much about people's lives.
• 32:26
  SPEAKER_01: And you and I really have connected through a range of of ways, but but this really has been an amazing opportunity to talk to you about how you're going, how you're traveling, but also your thoughts around how the industry is going to probably probably be okay, but most importantly, you're going to keep creating, designing.
• 32:46
  SPEAKER_01: And let's hope some of your beautiful, I can't wait to see the new look book.
• 32:50
  SPEAKER_01: Um, hopefully some of your designs will be um adorning fashionistas at spring carnival.
• 32:58
  SPEAKER_01: That's what I'm hoping.
• 32:59
  SPEAKER_01: Let's hope that we all open up.
• 33:01
  SPEAKER_01: Well, I'd like to thank you so much for joining me on the What I've Learned Podcast, Lisa.
• 33:06
  SPEAKER_01: It's been absolute joy and you're a gem.
• 33:08
  SPEAKER_00: Thanks so much, Deb, and can't wait to play dress ups with you again.
• 33:13
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, me too.
• 33:14
  SPEAKER_01: All right, take care.
• 33:19
  SPEAKER_01: Thanks so much for listening.
• 33:20
  SPEAKER_01: The What I've Learned podcast will now be coming to you weekly with new episodes released every Tuesday.
• 33:27
  SPEAKER_01: I'm blessed to have so many wonderful guests coming on the show.
• 33:30
  SPEAKER_01: So check out my What I've Learned Instagram for updates.
• 33:33
  SPEAKER_01: Meanwhile, stay tuned, kind, and curious.
• 33:37
  SPEAKER_01: Love death.