Janet Walker

Janet Walker (1850–1940) (known as Jessie) was a costumier and businesswoman in Queensland, Australia. She operated the largest private dressmaking establishment in colonial Brisbane.

Early life Janet was born at Neilston, Renfrewshire, Scotland on 10 June 1850, the daughter of Andrew and Jane (née Gemmell) Robertson. In 1863 the family migrated to Queensland, Australia.

Janet Walker began her working life as a teacher at Brisbane Girls Normal School in 1872. in partnership with Brisbane milliner, Martha Caldwell. Walker's designs were known for attention to detail, use of luxurious fabrics and high quality finishing touches and were worn by prominent Queensland women to numerous receptions, weddings, balls and other events.

Two years from the start of the business, a female journalist from the Queenslander visited her store and wrote a review which made her business better known to the public. As well as the female journalist, her colleagues also joined her to review the rooms, their names were Miss Caldwell and Miss Margaret Scott. In 1886 Janet then decided to expand on the shop and move to a larger premise on Adelaide Street. From 1887 to 1901 the local press acknowledged Janet's designs of eighty-four wedding dresses, fourteen ball gowns and six receptions, and described thirty sets of trousseau garments made in her studio. It was said that her clients were included as one of the most well-known ladies in society of the time. If you were seen wearing a gown by Walker, then this reflected her skills as a designer and her high standard of workmanship. After a while of having a larger premises Janet then decided to downsize her studio back down in 1918 where she moved back to Queen Street. She ran and operated the largest private dressmaking establishment in colonial Brisbane. During the year of 1898 she employed over 120 staff members with most of them working in her studio. Throughout this time, she didn't pay any of her apprentices during their first year, but also didn't expect any of them to work overtime during this period. The rest of her employees however were paid but only minimum wage with the included overtime and bonus pay during busy periods. To ensure the success of her business, she made sure that her staff were very well trained, and this then resulted in several of her staff carrying on to create and set up their own businesses. and in 1904 invented an improved dress stand for use in dressmaking. This design was known as the 'plastic bust' and was described as a "unique invention" which reproduced the "customer's exact figure, saves fitting, insures perfect work." This improved her dressmaking skills as Walker was able to make sure that her measurements were fully correct for her client throughout the dressmaking stages. The design of the new and improved dressmakers stand was then sold to the House of Worth, also Madame Paquin in Paris and then to the House of Redfern in London. 1905 was the year the Walker successfully floated the Plastic Bust Co. whilst she was in London. Janet Walker kept the business going and ran it up until 1938 where she retired being a talented and highly skilled costumier.

Later life She died on 27 November 1940 at Toowong and is buried with her family in South Brisbane Cemetery Only one of her children outlived her. To this day some of her gowns are held in the Queensland museum in Brisbane.