Founder and Creator of Bora, Hwa Sook Lee Bora, was born in Seoul, Korea into a creative family involved in the fashion industry. Fascinated with clothing and fashion as a child, she enjoyed playing with fabrics and cutting and making clothes as a little girl in her father’s workroom but never expected it to become her career. She studied Business in San Francisco for four years where she met her husband, with whom she moved to Brisbane in 1996.
Since its inception in Brisbane 20 years ago, the Bora label has evolved into an internationally recognized global brand, but the design studio in Newstead Brisbane will always be the heart of the business. Bora is well known for dressing Australia’s Miss Universe contestant, Jennifer Hawkins in the 2004 Miss Universe contest. Hawkins was crowned Miss Universe wearing Bora’s beautiful handmade bejeweled gown. Following this, Bora dressed various celebrities for a variety of events and showcased her designs at the Australia Week celebrations in Los Angeles. She has gone on to exhibit in Fashion Weeks around the globe and now features regularly on Asian Fashion TV.
After a year travelling around the world managing her fashion empire, and in between takes for her weekly TV show, Bora returns home to Brisbane for the Mercedes Benz Fashion Festival this August. The Mercedes Benz Fashion Festival will be covered by her show as well as all the fashion action across Brisbane Fashion Week. This will be broadcast on Korean Fashion TV and extensively throughout Asia.
MBFF presents a very exciting opportunity for Bora to present Brisbane to a wide audience across Asia. Brisbane has a strong history of Trade and Investment with Korea and Bora is recognized as one of Australia’s most successful exports.
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