Vanessa Stoykov

Elegance, originality, femininity and power dressing.

They are now terms synonymous with Australian women’s fashion…and with one designer in particular.

Both a household name and boutique icon – Carla Zampatti is renown for leading the industry through some revolutionary decades.

Hi, I’m Vanessa Stoykov, the CEO of the Evolution Media Group, and welcome to the latest episode of the Bottom Line.

Today, CPA Australia’s CEO Alex Malley will uncover Carla’s extraordinary journey – from a new Australian in the 1950s, to her first designs, to being awarded the Order of Australia 40 years later.

Alex Malley

So Carla, welcome to The Bottom Line. So moving into your first business, what were your early, early memories of I guess start ups because there would be a lot of young people, particularly ladies, who are watching you and thinking well what was the start up like?

Carla Zampatti

Tough. I made my samples, I put them in a suitcase, I went to the shops, I sold them, fortunately I got orders from the beginning because that, without that encouragement you kind of probably have doubts, what am I doing, and then it meant accumulating the orders, going home, ordering fabric and organising the cutting and the making with a maker whom I had met in my previous business.

Alex Malley

And that’s a very much a small to medium enterprise activity isn’t it, where you are doing everything and the challenge of saying well how do I get bigger when I’m doing everything myself, I mean that’s…

Carla Zampatti

I did have that challenge and so one ...