Lorna Jane

General information

Lorna Jane Clarkson is the founder of multi-award-winning activewear label Lorna Jane. Today, she represents MORE than activewear by inspiring women to live their best life through Active Living and the daily practice of Move Nourish Believe. Lorna’s story began 25 years ago when she single-handedly revolutionised women’s fitness clothing and began building the Active Living category.

Frustrated by the dull and uninspiring range of activewear available for women, she took matters into her own hands and started sewing her own outfits while working as a fitness instructor in North Queensland. Her designs quickly gained a following, with the women in her classes placing orders upon orders for her custom-made pieces.

“Our vision extends beyond the product. We don’t just sell activewear, we sell an active way of life. Our garments encourage women to achieve their best through Active Living and ultimately reach their full potential.”

After quitting her day job as a dental therapist and moving back to Brisbane, Lorna began designing full-time. Demand increased and she launched the label’s first retail store in 1990 in Brisbane’s CBD, with her husband Bill Clarkson by her side.

As word quickly spread about Lorna’s feminine and functional designs, her sisterhood grew with new stores opening across Australia and its first store in the United States in 2012.

There are now 185 stores worldwide, with the brand inspiring a global online movement embraced by hundreds of thousands of followers. Lorna Jane’s popular online destination Move Nourish Believe is place to learn, grow and be inspired to live active every day.

“Our customers are the culture and essence of our brand and their loyalty has always been incredibly special to me. When people wear Lorna Jane they are telling the world they want to be fitter, healthier and live a more inspirational life.”

Now celebrated as an icon of Australian fashion, Lorna lives and breathes her brand’s values. Her role sees her overseeing the creative direction of her company, directing entire collections and marketing campaigns and paving the way to Active Living through the daily practice of Move Nourish Believe.

Highlights of Lorna’s career include; winning numerous RAQ Fashion Design Awards, receiving the 2011 AMP Capital, BRW Award for Australia’s Outstanding Retailer of the Year, publishing her books Move, Nourish, Believe: The Fit Woman’s Secret Revealed in 2011, MORE of the Fit Woman’s Secrets in 2013 and Lorna’s first cookbook released in 2014.