family woman and lover of the seaside kym o'leary, has always had a natural flair for business and her hard working nature as seen her make huge changes within the women's workwear industry. her passion for women’s inclusiveness in the workplace has seen her develop many successful innovations designed by women, for women. we caught up with kym as part of our zk women project:

kym wears the bid dress in ginger.

tell us a bit about yourself?
well hi, i’m kym. a huge part of me - is made up of my family. they’re everything to me (including louis, our groodle). i grew up in the whitsundays which is why i love the ocean… just seeing it relaxes me! i’ve had my boat licence since i was 15 and enjoy getting out on the water. if i had to describe myself i would say i’m hard working with a laid back nature. i’m a natural born listener which is an attribute i’m proud of.

how has your world changed in the last month?
we’ve grown… really grown! over the past 18 months we rebranded our business from she’s empowered to co gear and we’re currently in the final stages. it’s been a massive journey and one i never want to go through again. we are happy to say that the ups and downs, the hard work, sweat and tears paid off. we’re exactly where we want to be with our main niche being our women’s high visibility workwear. i guess you could say our world has changed by continuing to change the women’s workwear industry, one step at a time.

your biggest career highlight to date?
the highlight of my career was creating the first hi vis maternity garments for women and most recently collaborating with bhp and blackwoods to redesign our maternity range. my passion for women’s inclusiveness in the workplace, drove this innovation and grew to change the lives of women in heavy industrial trade vocations and the mining industry.

what do you do to unwind?
my idea of relaxing is exploring the wine regions with my husband. there is nothing quite like enjoying a delicious meal paired with a full-bodied red with the fire crackling in the background.

favourite piece in your wardrobe?
i adore easy to wear pieces! dresses teamed with sneakers or boots is my go-to. i keep my hair messy and i love a bold lipstick! this tends to be my signature look as i struggle to be creative and myself when i am too put together.