20 Apparel and Textile Leaders Shaping Sydney Now

Last updated: 6 August 2026

Sydney's apparel and textile story is much bigger than the runway. It includes designers building distinctive labels, operators trying to make production more responsible, researchers testing new materials, educators preparing the next workforce, and institutions shaping how the public understands fashion.

The people in this list sit across that ecosystem. Some are based in Sydney. Others lead national organisations or programmes with a clear Sydney connection through policy, research, events or industry work.

This is not a ranking. It is a practical starting point for anyone who wants to understand the people shaping Sydney's apparel and textile future, from local design and manufacturing to circularity, education and cultural leadership.

Related reading: 35 Essential Thought Leaders in Textiles and Apparel. https://www.consultclarity.org/post/thought-leaders-textiles-apparel

Related reading: 50 Best Leadership Speakers for Manufacturing. https://www.consultclarity.org/post/50-best-leadership-speakers-for-manufacturing-2026

1. Alex Schuman

CEO at Carla Zampatti group of companies

Alex Schuman brings business, government and fashion experience to Carla Zampatti, where he leads the group of companies and foundation. As co-chair of the NSW Fashion Sector Working Group, he sits close to the practical questions facing local designers, manufacturers and brands. That makes him a useful name for readers interested in the business infrastructure behind Sydney fashion.

2. Edwina McCann

Editorial Director and Publisher at News Prestige and Conde Nast titles Australia

Edwina McCann is Editorial Director and Publisher of News Prestige and Conde Nast titles Australia. Her current work sits at the meeting point of fashion, media, brand strategy and public attention. As co-chair of the NSW Fashion Sector Working Group, she also brings a clear understanding of how Sydney fashion reaches audiences and markets beyond the city.

3. Marc Freeman

CEO and Creative Director at Camilla and Marc

Marc Freeman co-founded Camilla and Marc with his sister Camilla Freeman-Topper and leads the business as CEO and Creative Director. The brand's current Sydney spaces show how fashion leadership extends beyond garments into retail, design, craft and customer experience. His work offers a useful example of a Sydney label growing without losing a strong point of view.

4. Camilla Freeman-Topper

Creative Director and Co-founder at Camilla and Marc

Camilla Freeman-Topper is the Creative Director and co-founder of Camilla and Marc. Her design leadership is grounded in a modern wardrobe, careful craft and a deliberate approach to responsibility. The brand's 2025 Designer of the Year recognition reflects the strength of that creative direction, while its Sydney presence keeps the work connected to the city's design culture.

5. Lisa Havilah

Chief Executive at Powerhouse

Lisa Havilah leads Powerhouse as Chief Executive. Her role matters to apparel and textiles because museums and cultural institutions help preserve design history, create public conversations and give emerging work a place to be seen. Through Sydney fashion exhibitions and education partnerships, Powerhouse helps connect the sector's creative past with its next chapter.

6. Alix Higgins

Fashion and textiles designer at Alix Higgins

Alix Higgins is a Sydney-based fashion and textiles designer whose studio produces most pieces locally. Her work uses upcycled garments and digitally printed textiles, showing how a small label can treat material choice and production method as part of its creative language. She brings a direct, experimental voice to Sydney's independent design scene.

7. Elizabeth Mossop

Professor and former Dean at UTS Faculty of Design, Architecture and Building

Elizabeth Mossop is a Professor and former Dean of UTS's Faculty of Design, Architecture and Building. Her contribution is less about a single label and more about the education and design systems that support the sector. Including her makes the list more honest about the role of teaching, research and institutional leadership in Sydney's fashion future.

8. Anna Plunkett

Co-founder and Designer at Romance Was Born

Anna Plunkett is one half of Romance Was Born, the fashion house she co-founded with Luke Sales. The label is known for storytelling that crosses fashion, art and cultural collaboration. Its Sydney projects show how a fashion brand can become part of the city's wider creative life rather than operating only as a clothing business.

9. Jaana Quaintance-James

Chief Executive Officer at Australian Fashion Council

Jaana Quaintance-James is Chief Executive Officer of the Australian Fashion Council, the peak body for Australia's fashion and textile industry. Her work spans industry advocacy, local manufacturing, innovation and sustainability. She is an important connector for Sydney readers because the decisions made at national level shape the conditions in which local designers and businesses operate.

10. Dr Lisa Lake

Director, Centre of Excellence in Sustainable Fashion and Textiles at UTS and TAFE NSW

Dr Lisa Lake directs the UTS and TAFE NSW Centre of Excellence in Sustainable Fashion and Textiles. The centre links education, research and industry partnerships, with a focus on the skills and tools needed for a more sustainable sector. Her work gives Sydney's fashion conversation a practical bridge from good intentions to materials, production and workforce capability.

11. Timo Rissanen

Associate Professor and UTS academic lead at Centre of Excellence in Sustainable Fashion and Textiles

Associate Professor Timo Rissanen is the UTS academic lead of the Centre of Excellence in Sustainable Fashion and Textiles. His research connects sustainability and social justice, including systems-level approaches to fashion manufacturing waste. He brings the sector a useful reminder that material innovation only matters when it changes the wider system around design and production.

12. Dr Nga Wun (Doris) Li

Senior Lecturer and research leader in advanced fashion manufacturing at UTS School of Design

Dr Nga Wun Doris Li is a Senior Lecturer and research leader in advanced fashion manufacturing at UTS. Her work with seamless knitting explores functional garments, new materials and lower-waste production. That combination of research and making makes her an important Sydney voice in the move towards more capable local fashion technology.

13. Akira Isogawa

Fashion designer and UTS research supervisor at Akira and UTS

Akira Isogawa is one of Australia's best-known fashion designers and a UTS research supervisor. He brings decades of practice, an international outlook and a willingness to mentor the next generation of fashion researchers. His presence connects Sydney's established design history with the experimentation happening in its universities.

14. Nicky Zimmermann

Founder and Creative Director at Zimmermann

Nicky Zimmermann founded Zimmermann with her sister Simone and remains the label's Creative Director. The brand began at Sydney markets and has grown into a global business while keeping its head office in Sydney. Her story shows how a local design language can become an international brand without losing its original connection to place.

15. Simone Zimmermann

Founder and Chief Operating Officer at Zimmermann

Simone Zimmermann is a founder and Chief Operating Officer of Zimmermann. Her work represents the operational side of fashion leadership: building the systems, teams and commercial platform that allow a creative label to grow. Sydney's apparel story needs these operators as much as it needs the people whose names appear on the garments.

16. Bianca Spender

Founder and Creative Director at Bianca Spender

Bianca Spender is Founder and Creative Director of her namesake label. Her design language uses drape, liberated tailoring and a balance between structure and movement. With a Sydney base and a strong emphasis on considered design, she shows how local manufacturing and distinctive creative work can reinforce each other.

17. Zoltan Csaki

Co-founder at Citizen Wolf

Zoltan Csaki co-founded Citizen Wolf, the Sydney apparel business built around made-to-order production and custom fit. Its model challenges the assumption that fashion must begin with speculative volume. His work gives the local sector a concrete example of how technology, manufacturing and circular thinking can be combined in one business.

18. Eric Phu

Co-founder at Citizen Wolf

Eric Phu co-founded Citizen Wolf and helped develop the business's Magic Fit approach. Citizen Wolf's B Corp work and Sydney factory make its leadership story broader than product design alone. It asks what a clothing company owes to its customers, workers, community and environment, then tries to build those responsibilities into the operating model.

19. Bernadette Olivier

Co-founder and Chief Executive Officer at The Volte

Bernadette Olivier is co-founder and CEO of The Volte, a Sydney-connected peer-to-peer clothing rental platform. The company's research partnership with UTS examines when rental can reduce the impact of clothing by keeping garments in use for longer. Her work sits at the intersection of technology, consumer behaviour and circular fashion.

20. Ainsley Simpson

Chief Executive Officer at Seamless Australia

Ainsley Simpson is CEO of Seamless Australia, the clothing stewardship scheme working to change how clothes are designed, used and recirculated. Her role is national, but Sydney is one of the places where the work becomes visible through industry events, research partnerships and policy conversations. She represents the systems leadership needed to move from isolated good practice to shared infrastructure.

If your team is working through change in apparel, textiles, manufacturing or retail, the useful question is often not what to announce next but what decision, standard or conversation needs to become clear. Consult Clarity helps leaders turn that work into practical action through keynotes, workshops and facilitation. Email jonno@consultclarity.org to discuss what your team needs.