One Aussie icon to another: How Lisa Gorman transformed Kikki K

When fashion designer Lisa Gorman stepped into the role of creative director at Kikki K in 2023, she knew the brand re-invention had to include a new bricks and mortar approach.

The cult Australian stationery brand was acquired by Brandbank Group in 2021, after being placed in voluntary administration twice. With a solid customer base that covered everybody from tweens to Gen X stationery buffs, it its heyday, Kikki K – started by entrepreneur Kristina Karlssen in 2000 – had more than 110 stores Australia wide.

That had been wilted down to 18 when Gorman took over, but now the approach is to expand its retail footprint once again with airport hubs on the agenda and more curated high street stores due to open in the next year.

Under Gorman’s guidance Kikki K has evolved into more than journal and diaries – with product development now including lifestyle items such as travel bags and suitcases, a capsule of denim pieces and outwear trenches – the perfect travel companion for the fashion-forward.

Under Lisa Gorman, Kikki K have moved into travel goods and apparel. Picture: Supplied

According to Gorman, the focus is on finding a place in community village strips such as Gertrude Street in Melbourne’s Fitzroy, King Street in Sydney’s Newtown and James Street in Brisbane.

“Our newest customers are those off the street – who don’t even know the brand, and that is why bricks and mortar is important to us. It’s vital,” Gorman says.

“We see a lot of international travellers coming to our CBD store and they love the colourful windows. We put a lot of effort into making them look strong and it’s working.”

“The stores look like a completely different space from its past, which has its own challenges, but we’ve lured a new fan to the brand too,” says Gorman.

The ability to step into an existing brand and reinvent the wheel has been exciting, and at times challenging, for Gorman.

“I had never worked in this category before, and it was interesting to come into this with fresh eyes,” she says.

“Kikki K was an Aussie icon, but part of the problem was the digital age arrived and a lot of people starting converting to phones for dairies and journaling; and it was a time when paper products needed to be reset.

“I went in thinking nah, people don’t use paper, society has moved on, but I realised very quickly that regardless of your digital diaries, there is still such a nostalgic attachment to paper.”

New look Kikki K store under the creative direction of Lisa Gorman. Picture: Supplied

Travel journals and diaries are still their biggest sellers, and according to Gorman, many want to escape the screen and find other ways to document their lives – with wellness and self-care part of that inward journey too.

“Journaling is on the rise and with that came a new approach to the way we deliver it to customers,” she says.

Expanding the brand’s offering has been key in its renewal process.

“A business the size of Kikki K couldn’t survive on paper alone, it wasn’t necessarily the right approach,” she says.

“I have brought new categories and it’s about telling the story as a brand and product layering them in your life. From the bag to the notebook, pen and paper to outwear, jacket and knitwear.  It’s about a look and style rather than it being category specific now.”

Gorman says while many brands in the retail sector tend to stick to their lane, she saw this job as an opportunity to celebrate all things Kikki K, while also putting her own handwriting on the wall.

Lisa Gorman stepped away from her namesake fashion label in 2021 – leaving behind a 22-year legacy of colourful high street fashion that changed the way Australian women dressed. It was founded in 1999 and sold to Factory X in 2010 – which also owns Dangerfield, Princess Highway and Jack London.

Lisa Gorman walks the runway with a model during the Gorman Collection show at Mercedes Australian Fashion Week in 2006. Picture: Getty

Stepping into another legacy brand wasn’t lost on Gorman, who has brought her own kaleidoscope of colour to Kikki K – still Nordic in its aspiration, but with a brighter ‘Gorman’ aesthetic to the overall mood now.

“I have been conscious to lineate what I am doing now to what I was doing then [at Gorman],” she says.

“Part of moving on was to explore something new and a new way to create and mix product. That is happening now, and it’s been exciting for me – with travel a natural evolution for us.

The Kikki K brand came with a big following both local and overseas; with that came some challenges of educating customers of the change that was afoot.

“I love to think that everyone who was a Kikki fan in the past could be in the future, ball is in their court,” says Gorman.

Two weeks ago, Kikki K launched the carry-on suitcase and case plus – a vertical world of travel where you add accessories as you see fit. One suitcase comes with a zip front for laptops, while the latter option is for those who want something more traditional in casing. There are muted tones of plum and olive while pops of Nordic wow continue with egg yolk yellow and powder blue – the heroine shades that Kikki K became known for.

Gorman’s product expansion also means retail expansion.

“Airports are definitely in our sight line,” she says.

“The medium-term plan is to get the brand back in on the high street, in local community-based strips and regions. I feel there is a lot to be gained being based within a community and not necessarily being in a shopping centre. We’re Australian designed for the Australian market and we are missing that placement at the moment and I want to change that,” she says.

With a hint of fashion now visible at Kikki K, Gorman says she isn’t interested in making the brand a fashion line. But let it be known that her denim jackets have sold out; evident that customers will buy whatever she puts her creative hand to.

Travel goods feature in Kikki K’s new range. Picture: Supplied

“I am not interested in creating full blown fashion collections four times a year, it’s about bringing apparel through the brand, as a compliment to travel companionship,” says Gorman.

Working collaboratively with the team at Brandbank is proving fruitful for Gorman.

“It does feel different to my previous life,” she explains.

“And I feel just as responsible as I ever did in my previous world. I am very passionate about what I do – that is hard to whip out of me.

“Now being creative director as a brand that isn’t my name has really given me the ability to step back and look at it from the outside, as the third person, as opposed to being it and in it. It’s definitely different in that regard. It gives me a very healthy perspective on retail. I am working alongside great people who are very supportive and I am happy I can explore the vision I have for Kikki K.  It’s a fortunate position to be in as a designer.”

Gorman says the retail stores have worked wonders for Kikki K, but the historical customer tends to shop online; hardwired in their understanding of what they want and shop for.

“They have preconceived ideas of the brand and they’re harder to convert,” she says.

“However, the walk-ins come with no pre-conceived idea and it’s interesting to watch this journey unfold.”