Roma woman Cara Spreadborough brings label, Sorority, to New York Fashion Week

After an unimaginable tragedy, an outback Queensland nurse turned to fashion. Now, her designs have been showcased on the international stage at New York Fashion Week.

Roma designer, Cara Spreadborough, showed her designs at New York Fashion Week 2024. Sorority the label.

In her 20s, Cara Spreadborough lived in London with her twin sister, travelling and making memories to last a lifetime that included pining outside the windows of London’s famous Liberty department store.

Little did she know then, that her love of Liberty would lead to her showing her own designs on the runway at New York Fashion Week, one of the only Australian designers featured at the iconic event.

Roma designer, Cara Spreadborough, showed her designs at New York Fashion Week 2024. Sorority the label.

After five years, Ms Spreadborough traded London for fairer weather, and moved back to Queensland where she had done her nursing degree years before.

Sorority designs mostly use Liberty London fabrics and prints, as an homage to Ms Spreadborough’s lasting love of the brand.

She lived in various places across the state, but eventually settled on a property 70km from Roma where she had met her husband.

It was while living there, she learnt that her twin sister, with whom she’d spent so much of her formative life, had a rare brain cyst.

She said her sister died quickly, leaving behind three young children.

“It was such a shock, you just don’t know what you’re doing,” Ms Spreadborough said.

Behind the scenes at New York Fashion week where Roma designer, Cara Spreadborough, showed her designs.

“I remember thinking ‘what can I do to keep myself busy?’ – we were living on a cattle property 70km out of town.”

So, Ms Spreadborough took to designing clothes, specifically the kind of Liberty-esque floral print blouses she had been unable to find in Australia.

Behind the scenes at New York Fashion week where Roma designer, Cara Spreadborough, showed her designs.

“I remember seeing a floral shirt I loved, and I don’t think I’ve ever told my husband, but it cost $500 to ship it over,” she said.

Ms Spreadborough still wears that shirt today, but she thought other people might be looking for a similar thing.

She said she put in a wholesale application with Liberty, pitched her idea, and was thrilled when the Asia-Pacific representative was on board.

Sorority designs mostly use Liberty London fabrics and prints, as an homage to Ms Spreadborough’s lasting love of the brand.

Soon, she had a design to sell, and towards the end of Covid had started building an online community.

“I sold 75 shirts before I even launched the website,” she said.

In the past three years, Ms Spreadborough’s business has gone from strength to strength.

“It got to a point where I quit my nursing job,” she said, and she was able to get a retail space in Roma, which she now runs as the boutique, Inky and Moss.

In 2024, Ms Spreadborough took her designs to Toowoomba Fashion Festival, where she learnt about Flying Solo, a promoter of small independent brands in the fashion world.

She put together an application to be represented by Flying Solo at New York Fashion Week, and said she never thought anything more of it.

Sorority designs mostly use Liberty London fabrics and prints, as an homage to Ms Spreadborough’s lasting love of the brand.

It was a Sunday morning when she got the email – she was going to New York Fashion Week.

“I was terrified,” she said.

“I’m not a designer, I’m a nurse.”

But, she put together a new collection, and flew with it, along one of her sisters, to New York for fashion week in September.

Behind the scenes at New York Fashion week where Roma designer, Cara Spreadborough, showed her designs.

She said she spent all week in New York for fashion week, which went from September 6 to 11, preparing for the show.

She said she was the only Australian designer with Flying Solo, the rest hailing from all over the world.

And, on the final day of fashion week, instead of partying with the others, Ms Spreadborough and her sister boarded a plane for London, for a private tour of the Liberty London store.

Originally published as Roma woman Cara Spreadborough brings label, Sorority, to New York Fashion Week