Meet Lia Georgantis, a 29yo CEO doing what no one else dared
A Sydney store owner has revealed how her business changed overnight when she shared a video that no one else had dared to post.
The owner of a cult-store in Sydney’s Double Bay has explained how a single video showcasing one outfit on two different body shapes catapulted her brand to viral success.
Lia Georgantis, CEO of Aussie fashion retailer Girls With Gems, made the decision to do what no other fashion brand was doing after realising none of the women modelling the clothes she sold looked like her.
Fed-up and frustrated, the 29-year-old did the unthinkable, and launched the brand’s now infamous “same same but different sizes” video series – and the result was staggering.
“The segment shows us dressing in a size 6 and a size 12 in the same outfit and it was born after I realised that all we were posting on Instagram were the same gorgeous girls,” she told news.com.au.
“It made me sick, how can I be putting that out, when it’s not even me?
“So we decided to start making really raw, authentic content that reflected the women working there and wearing the clothes.”
Ms Georgantis said almost overnight the store’s followers “jumped up”, because it offered women the chance to see what the clothes looked like on their own bodies.
“We went from posting content that looked like everyone else’s, photos that didn’t resonate and felt fake, to showing up authentically while also ‘being fashion’,” she explained.
“It honestly just took off and six years later we’re still doing it. Now it’s just part of the Girls With Gems identity.”
As more customers found Girls With Gems, a store Ms Georgantis took over from her mum in 2020 after she moved to Greece to open a hotel, it gave the budding entrepreneur the opportunity expand.
“There’s natural progressions in business, and for us, everyone kept asking whether we were going to open more stores,” she said.
“I knew people loved coming here and loved shopping with us, so I felt it was only fitting to make a brand, one that makes women feel confident and is super flattering on the body.”
Enter Sneaky Link, a line of clothing that is super cool, and somehow even more beloved than the Girls With Gems store.
“Initially it made exclusive prints in limited units, and we did that for two drops, but then I wanted a pair of cargo pants and no brand would make them, so I did it and we put them under the Sneaky Link brand, and it sold like wild,” said Ms Georgantis.
“The more we did street wear, we were selling hundreds of units and things were going viral, so we really saw the demand and pivoted.”
Recently, the brand collaborated with TikTok star Jaz Hand to create a 24-piece capsule collection that has gone bonkers with fans.
The collection features a mix of wearable, elevated staples – think chocolate tones, a pop of butter yellow and crisp whites, in a mix of denim, dresses and separates that Ms Georgantis states “you’ll actually live in”.
But one of the most exciting elements about the collab is that it marked the start of Sneaky Link offering extended sizing, now selling from a 4 to 20.
“Despite it being a milestone for the brand, we got lots of hate when we announced the extended sizing, with some people saying size 20 isn't inclusive,” she said.
“But a lot of Australian brands only go up to a size 12, and it shows that people just don’t understand how manufacturing clothes works.
“It’s not as easy as just turning it on one day, you have to make the investment and also make sure the new sizes work on those body types.
“We’re so happy to offer up to a size 20 now, it was always in the plan, so to get there feels so good.”
Ms Georgantis, who studied to be a lawyer before she jumped headfirst into fashion, added that utilising the digital world has brought a lot of surprises to her business journey.
“With the sizing announcement, I didn’t expect it to go that way, whereas we posted a video recently of me where I said, ‘I was basically born a size 12 and I used to cry every time I would leave David Jones when I was younger because nothing fit me,’ and there’s not a single bad comment on there. You just never know how people are going to react.”
Indeed, the clip was extremely well received, with many relating to the CEO in the comments.
“Love this, always been a size 12 and now a 16-18,” said one.
“Freaking love this,” agreed another.
As one declared: “You are a goddess. I have had the same experience all my life. About time we can make cute clothes made for us.”
Shoppers particularly love the attention to detail Ms Georgantis gives to the Sneaky Link clothes, including adding length to skirts as the size goes up “so that no one feels too exposed at the back”.
“Genuinely, Sneaky Link has thought of everything a woman frets about, I am obsessed,” wrote one shopper recently.
“My fave brand, I wish I could buy it all,” said another.
