Today, at 74, she is a shining star of the local business and fashion world. The secret to her success, she says, is diversity.

"Multiculturalism is everywhere in my design room and in my retail spaces," she told Fairfax Media. "I have Chinese, Vietnamese, Australian, Brazilian and Argentinian artisans - that is my team. Each culture brings an element of ideas which you would never experience if you didn't look outside what you know. It's a very important element for me."

"Multiculturalism is very important. It's what a country is. That's why we do it better than any other country and respecting that is very, very important," Zampatti said.

While she is renowned for her show-stopping gowns and statement suits, a hijab is another feather in her creative cap.

The designer was recruited by Westpac to design the bank's new official uniform, which will include everything from socks, puffer vests for agribusiness bankers and a head covering for Muslim employees.

The collection, that will be worn by 8000 staff across 680 branches from April 2017, was unveiled with a catwalk show in Sydney on Tuesday.

The range took Zampatti more than a year to create after months of research was conducted by the bank.

Ainslie van Onselen, director of women's markets, inclusion and diversity, spearheaded focus groups with employees and said the hijab was a popular request after 18 months of discussion and product testing.

"[Our Muslim staff] told us that having an official hijab would help them fit in. Otherwise they were going to have to source their own and the whole point of inclusion is making people feel like they belong and making them feel valued," she said.

"It's going to be very easy to get dressed in the morning. It's so beautiful, I feel great," Manija Akbari, a bank officer who has been an employee for five years, said after she walked the catwalk debuting the hijab.

The move follows other Australian businesses like Optus and the Commonwealth Bank which also incorporate hijabs – the traditional covering for the hair and neck worn by Muslim women – in staff uniforms.

It has been available to women in the Victorian police force since 2004.