Sometimes it takes a series of misadventures to find your true calling, and designer Frank Lyman can certainly attest to this truth. Raised in a family of seven children, in a place he personally describes as the “wrong side of the tracks,” Frank’s humble beginnings seem an unlikely spring board to world-wide recognition as a leader in the fashion industry.
After completing his sophomore year, Frank left high school with his path unclear but loosely focused on becoming a rock star. When the dust settled and his garage band The Wonders had not found commercial success, he hopscotched through several years of random employment that included working at a glue factory and transporting potatoes for a chip company.
At one point, between jobs, Frank had a chance encounter that ignited his passion and launched his career. As Frank tells it: “I went to the Unemployment Insurance office downtown and the guy asked me what I was hoping to find. I listed a bunch of things, including travel and a car, and he said ‘that’s interesting, I just got this posting, and some of those things are on it.’ So I went over to the Mount Royal Hotel, wearing my one and only suit, and met Joe Shackett, who represented a number of women’s clothing companies. He hired me. And as soon as I got into it, I said ‘I’m not doing anything else. This is exciting.’ ”
So, at the age of 18, Frank began working in the fashion industry as a salesman for Joe, traveling extensively throughout Quebec and Canada. He spent six years in Joe’s employ, traveling 48 weeks of the year, until marriage (to wife Carole, to whom he is still married 50+ years later) made him pause and consider his schedule and the impact it would have on his family. “That’s the reason I finally quit,” Frank explains, “I got married.”
But his passion for fashion, especially design, never abated, and Frank returned to the fashion industry after a year, joining Joseph Ribkoff. Frank continued there for 25 years, learning, evolving, and transitioning through the company, moving through the ranks from showroom salesman, to director of sales, and finally to management.
In 2001, Frank began to fully realize his dream of fashion design and production when he found a vacant building on Chabanel, the heart of The Garment District in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, and set about equipping it, began networking with clients, and most importantly, designing. In six months time, his first garments were ready for shipment.
His daughter, Stephanie, had already joined the family business that also now employs her two older brothers, and within two years of those initial shipments, Frank and Stephanie had expanded clientele to include not only Canada and the U.S., but also Ireland and the U.K. Sales have grown from about $1 million in the first year to more than $75 million in 2016.
Stephanie, who grew up discussing all things fashion and design around the dinner table, serves as president of the company. Frank continues to serve as the company’s CEO. In 2014, when operations outpaced what the facility on Chabanel could accommodate, the company invested in a new 60,000-square-foot headquarters that employs more than 100 people on-site and more than 250 contractors and sales representatives.
About 98 percent of the clothing is made in Canada, a point of particular pride for Frank and Stephanie. “People recognize the quality and confection of Canadian-made garments”, says Stephanie.
Lyman sums up the secret to his success – “If you give clients the right items to sell, they’ll come back for more. Our dresses are investment dresses. You can wear them year after year. And they are for all ages. We have customers in their 90s and they look fantastic.”
More than 50 years after Frank Lyman began as a salesperson, selling fashion lines across Canada, his personal designs are sold in 3,000 shops in more than 60 countries. We think we can safely say that women around the world are certainly thankful that The Wonders never made a hit record!
Pappagallo proudly carries Frank Lyman Designs. We will have a trunk showing of his fall and
holiday collections September 5, 6 and 7.
-compiled by Nicki Smith from information provided by the office of Frank Lyman
About the Author: Nicki Smith has been in the fashion industry for 36 years. She is the owner of and buyer for Pappagallo, located at 2020 Scottsville Road in Bowling Green (The Pines Shopping Center, next to Chico).
