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Where it all beganLorna Jane’s story began 25

years ago when she revolution-

ised women’s fitness clothing

and began building the Active

Living category. She became

frustrated by the overtly dull and

monotonous range of active-wear

available to women, and decided

to start designing and sewing

her own outfits while working

as a fitness instructor in North

Queensland, Australia. Her

designs quickly gained popularity,

with the women in her classes

placing orders upon orders for

her personalised pieces. Lorna

explains, “I started designing my

own leotards because I was so sick

of the shapeless, dismal pieces

available at the time. The ladies

in my class loved my designs and

asked me to make active-wear

for them as well, which of course I

was only too happy to do!”

After quitting her full-time day

job as a dental therapist and

moving back to Brisbane, Lorna

began designing her active-wear

range full-time. Demand quickly

increased and she launched the

label’s first retail store in 1990 in

Brisbane’s CBD, with her husband,

Bill Clarkson by her side. “Back

then there was no active-wear

category for women, and we were

forced to choose from a very

limited range of exercise gear in

the masculine environment of a

sporting goods store,” says Lorna.

This is when Lorna Jane pioneered

the active lifestyle category for

woman, and has since made the

changes she wished to see in the

industry. “My aim was to design

workout wear that would actually

inspired women to exercise and

I can proudly say that, 25 years

on, my dream has finally been

realised,” Lorna proclaims.

a WorldWide affectionNow distinguished as an Austral-

ian fashion icon, business woman

and author, Lorna still lives and

breathes her brand’s active life-style philosophy. Lorna explains how she sets a daily goal every morning, and makes a promise to herself to move her body, nourish it with real foods, and to believe in herself and her ability to achieve greatness. “This is a great philos-ophy to adhere to when you are starting your active journey and to follow throughout. I recom-mend it to anyone that needs to get their lives on track because no matter where you are in life, every morning is a new beginning and a new chance to give your mind and body the love and attention it deserves,” she says.

AT THE OFFICEW

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Uninspired by the regular, dull and

unflattering range of active-wear

available for women, Lorna Jane

Clarkson set out to completely over-

haul the active fashion industry, intro-

ducing stylish, exciting and fashion-

able active-wear that would motivate

women to exercise. What started out

as a single retail store in the heart of

Brisbane in 1990, her business has

since taken the world by storm and

now boasts more than 155 worldwide

outlets. This is Lorna’s story about

how she transformed herself from a

small-town fitness instructor, to an

Australian and global fashion icon.

Move, NoUrish,BeLieve!the business of active living, With lorna Jane clarksonby Mathew love

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AT THE OFFICE

Her important role in the business

sees her managing the creative

direction of her company, direct-

ing entire collections and mar-

keting campaigns, and paving the

way to active living through the

daily practice of her Move Nourish

Believe campaign. Although she

leads a busy life, she revels in

every moment of it and ensures

that she finds balance, “The key

to a balanced lifestyle for me is

taking time out for myself every

single day. Whether it’s time on

my yoga mat, meditating, reading

a book or taking my puppy for

a walk, I make the conscious

decision to switch off and unwind

to ensure I am ready to tackle

anything that comes my way,”

she says.

While Lorna Jane has become a

popular household name, Lorna

insists that it is more than just a

brand, and rather a lifestyle. She

explains, “Anyone who is familiar

with Lorna Jane would agree that

it’s so much more than simply

a clothing brand! We share my

personal active living philosophy

in every single thing we do, to

inspire women to reach their full

potential and live beautiful active

lives.” Lorna defines her custom-

ers as part of her active lifestyle

family, and encourages them

to become part of a worldwide

support group that inspires wom-

en all over the world to achieve

their goals in life. With 155 retail

stores worldwide, and the brand

inspiring a global online move-

ment embraced by over a million

followers, Lorna Jane’s popular

online destination, Move Nourish

Believe, has become a place to

learn, grow and be inspired to live

active every day.

healthy living toWards a bright future“Active Living and Move Nourish

Believe are my recipes for opti-

mum health and wellness. They

are my own personal philosophies

and have become a mantra I

embody in everything I do,” Lorna

states. She further believes in the

cliché, “you are what you eat”,

and that there is an extremely

powerful connection between

what someone eats, and how they

look and feel every day. “I nour-

ish my body with healthy, real

food every single day, because

I know first-hand the positive

effect it has on my mood, energy

levels and how I tackle the day,”

she explains. Lorna’s new book,

Nourish: The fit Woman’s Cook-

book talks about her philosophy

towards food and how important

it is to nourish our bodies with

real, balanced foods, rather than

torturing ourselves mentally and

physically over gruelling fad diets,

which she believes simply don’t

work in the long run.

With everything she has already

achieved in her life and a bright

future she sets her sights set on,

Lorna still regards her greatest

achievement as inspiring others to

adopt her active lifestyle philos-

ophy, “My greatest achievement

in life would have to be educating

my customers and women all over

the world about Active Living. It’s

my personal philosophy, so seeing

others adopt the Move Nourish

Believe mantra, and living their

very best active life is extremely

special to me,” she says.

So what does the future hold

for an already world renowned

brand? Lorna explains that there

are a lot of exciting opportuni-

ties coming up for Lorna Jane as

they roll out their international

expansions and continue to grow.

“We plan to have 50 stores in the

united States by the end of next

year and we are looking to expand

the brand further globally,” she

says. They are also expanding

their Active Living Room concept

stores, which is an exciting new

experiential retail offering that

combines a fitness studio, a

nourishing café and a Lorna Jane

boutique; bringing the Active

Living Philosophy to life in one ex-

citing location. The Active Living

Magazine is launching in a couple

of months and there will still be

more books, and possibly even a

television show.

lorna Jane’s PhilosoPhyMove your body. exercise is extremely important

for a long, healthy and fulfilling life.

nourish it with real food. eat healthily and have

well-balanced, well-portioned meals.

believe in yourself and your accomplishments.

Have confidence and strive for your goals.

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.

– lorna Jane clarkson

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