Costume Designer · Head of Department

📞 +61 417 903 665

🎞 Lisa on IMDb

📧 lisagaleagunning@gmail.com

🌐 www.lisagaleagunning.com

PROFESSIONAL PROFILE

Lisa Galea Gunning is one of Western Australia’s most experienced and respected Costume Designers and Heads of Department, with over 30 years of industry experience across feature film, television and major advertising campaigns.

Her body of work spans large-scale productions, internationally recognised series and award-winning Australian content, with a reputation for consistently delivering high-quality costume design across a wide range of genres — from period and historical storytelling through to contemporary screen productions.

Lisa is known for her strong department leadership, her ability to build and manage high-performing costume teams, and her deep expertise in period research, character-driven design and large-scale wardrobe execution. She works closely with Directors, Producers, Production Designers and other Heads of Department to ensure costume design is fully integrated into the visual and narrative language of each production.

In addition to her design work, Lisa owns and manages one of the most extensive private costume collections in Western Australia, providing productions with immediate access to a broad range of period and contemporary wardrobe.

With an extensive career spanning more than three decades of Western Australian and national screen production, Lisa brings creative excellence, senior department leadership and substantial operational capability to every production.

KEY SKILLS

• Costume Design and Department Leadership (HOD)
• Period research and historically accurate design
• Character-driven costume development
• Team leadership and crew management
• Budget management and large-scale wardrobe coordination
• Cross-department collaboration with Directors, Producers, Production Designers and other departments
• Problem-solving in high-pressure production environments
• Adaptability across feature film, television and commercial production

PRODUCTION VALUE

Lisa brings more than three decades of costume experience to a production, combining senior creative leadership with the practical understanding required to run a busy costume department efficiently. Having worked across feature films, television drama, period productions and commercial work, she understands the demands placed on costume from early preparation and budgeting through to principal photography.

As an experienced Head of Department, Lisa can build and lead costume teams, manage complex wardrobe requirements and work closely with Directors, Producers, Production Designers and other departments to ensure costume supports both the creative vision and the practical realities of the production. Her depth of experience allows her to anticipate requirements early, respond quickly when circumstances change and make informed decisions under production pressure.

A significant advantage for productions filming in Western Australia is Lisa’s extensive privately owned costume warehouse. Her established collection provides immediate local access to a broad range of period and contemporary wardrobe, reducing reliance on interstate sourcing and freight and giving productions greater flexibility during preparation and filming. This can help reduce lead times and costs while allowing the costume department to respond quickly to changing production requirements.

Lisa’s long-standing relationships across the Western Australian and national screen industries also give her an established network of crew, suppliers and industry contacts. For incoming productions in particular, that local knowledge can be invaluable in navigating what is available within Western Australia and identifying practical solutions quickly.

Ultimately, Lisa brings a combination that is difficult to replicate: creative design experience, senior department leadership, extensive local knowledge, established resources and more than 30 years of production experience. She brings not only a strong creative eye to a project, but the operational capability to help a costume department deliver efficiently, reliably and to the standard expected of major screen productions.

KEY PRODUCTION ADVANTAGES

• 30+ years of screen production experience
• Experienced Costume Designer and Head of Department
• Extensive period and contemporary costume knowledge
• Established privately owned WA costume collection
• Local sourcing capability that can reduce freight, lead times and interstate dependency
• Experienced in building and managing costume departments
• Strong WA and national industry networks
• Proven across feature film, television drama and commercial production
• Consistent delivery of high-quality outcomes on tight schedules

COSTUME DESIGNER – SELECTED CREDITS

Feature Films & TV Series (Lead Designer)

• Two Birds (2026) – Stan
• We Bury the Dead (2024) – WBTD Film Productions
• Silver – Scrublands S2 (2024) – Easy Tiger / Third Act Stories / Stan
• The Twelve S3 (2024) – Easy Tiger / Warner Bros
• The Claremont Murders (2023) – ESA Productions
• Avance (2022) – Filmscope
• How to Please a Woman (2022) – Feisty Productions
• The Furnace (2019) – Hoover Gold
• Below (2018) – Newhaven Films
• Blight (2017) – Factor 30 Films
• Gateway (2016) – Convergence Productions
• A Few Less Men (2015) – Gorean Productions
• Parallax (2004) – Barron TV
• The Shark Net (2003) – Taylor Media
• Let’s Get Skase (2000) – Media World
• Ship to Shore (1994) – Barron TV

FEATURE FILMS – ADDITIONAL ROLES

• Kid Snow (2022) – Assistant Costume Designer (Designer: Terri Lamera)
• RAMS (2018) – Costume Buyer (Designer: Tess Schofield)
• Wallingat Summer (1998) – Costume Supervisor (Designer: Marion Boyce)
• The Sound of One Hand Clapping (1996) – Costume Standby
• Under the Lighthouse Dancing (1996) – Costume Standby
• Mr Reliable (1996) – Costume Standby (Designer: Tess Schofield)
• Lillian’s Story (1995) – Costume Supervisor (Designer: Edie Kurzer)
• Mighty Morphin Power Rangers (1994–1995) – Costume Standby (2nd Unit)
• Black River (1992) – Costume Standby (Designer: Edie Kurzer)
• Love in Limbo (1991) – Costume Buyer (Designer: Clarissa Patterson)
• A Waltz Through the Hills (1987) – Costume Standby

TELEVISION – COSTUME SUPERVISOR & BUYER

• Royal Flying Doctor Service S2 (2023) – Costume Supervisor (Designer: Michael Chisolm)
• Mystery Road: Origin (2021) – Costume Supervisor (Designer: Terri Lamera)
• Stath Lets Flats S2 (2019) – Costume Supervisor (Designer: Helen Wooltenden)
• Itch (2019) – Costume Buyer (Designer: Helen Wooltenden)
• Moby Dick (1998) – Costume Supervisor (Designer: Marion Boyce)
• Noah’s Ark (1998) – Costume Supervisor
• Natural Justice (1995) – Costume Supervisor (Designer: Terri Lamera)
• The Man from Snowy River (1994) – Costume Standby
• Ship to Shore (1994) – Costume Standby (Designer: Helen Mather)
• Clowning Around (1992–1993) – Costume Standby / Supervisor
• Police Rescue (1992) – Wardrobe Assistant
• Ray Martin Show (1992–1993) – Wardrobe Assistant

COMMERCIALS

Clients include: Tourism Western Australia · Lotterywest · Steel Blue · RAC · Bankwest · Curtin University · IBM · Mastercard · Cancer Council · Virgin Australia · TAB Touch · HBF · Medibank · Red Rooster · IKEA · Chevron · SGIO · Plush · Smarter Than Smoking · Wools of New Zealand