Taught by her seamstress grandmother how to sew when she was just four years old, Lisa Ho was destined to become a fashion designer when she grew up. Born in 1963 in Albury, between New South Wales and the Victorian border, Lisa Ho is the first name that fashion conscious women in Australia think of when it comes to trendy, fashion forward outfits.
Graduated from the East Sydney Technical College in 1981, Lisa went on to build a reputation in the Australian fashion industry when she launched her first label. With her catchy and attractive never seen before designs, Lisa Ho was dubbed the rising star in the fashion industry after only six weeks into her first fashion label. Soon Lisa’s designs caught the attention of stars like Sarah Michelle Gellar, Jennifer Lopez, Ivanka Trump and Elle Macpherson and the road to success was already paved in gold for her. Having a childhood hobby of collecting vintage fabrics, Lisa today owns about eighteen thousand pieces in her private collection and counting.
Due to her growing name in the fashion industry, Lisa’s collection became a part of the fashion segment in the Sydney Games, 2000 and even Olivia Newton John sported Lisa Ho’s outfit in the event’s opening ceremony. Lisa soon owned twelve signature stores and her clothing line was available in all David Jones stores worldwide but her success was pretty short lived, almost seemed like she hit a career dead end when her business started going downhill and was placed under voluntary administration by HLB Mann Judd in May 2013. All of Lisa’s stores were shut down after the company made a loss of a staggering $20 million dollars just after her glamorous show at Mercedes – Benz Fashion Week Australia. The misfortune was all due to failed marketing strategies which attracted fewer buyers and left her suppliers in a terrible fix.
However, Lisa did not give up hope and was determined to breathe life into her fashion label. She was looking forward to striking a deal with Myer in order to launch her signature brand in February 2014. In her opinion, Myer would give lifeline to her struggling brand like it did for brands like Sass & Amp; Bide. Finally the deal was finalized and Lisa was set to design an exclusive range of clothing for Myer under the brand name, L by Lisa. The collection would target young customers who want trendy yet functional outfits for everyday wear unlike her clothing lines formerly known to include extravagant evening wear along with classy, elegant cocktail dresses. The collection was set to hit the stores on August 20 of the same year. The brand made quite a glamorous debut in Myer’s spring summer fashions collections launch which brought the fashion phoenix back into the picture after more than a year of financial dry spell when she was forced to shut down her stores even after an amazing thirty years of experience in the fashion industry.
Lisa Ho has had an amazing start to her career, maintained a strong name in the ever so demanding Australian fashion industry for almost thirty years before she hit a dead end in her career but she did not call it quits. She was determined to make a comeback despite the financial snags and boy did she make a comeback. What separates Lisa from other designers is her resilience and will to survive in this fast paced industry today.