Clothing the Gap never started out with the goal of becoming a fashion label, but after years of supporting First Nations communities by selling merch online, the Melbourne-based, Aboriginal owned and led social enterprise has opened up a retail store on Brunswick’s bustling Sydney Road.
For those unfamiliar with Clothing the Gap, the social enterprise was started by Aboriginal health professionals with the aim of improving the life expectancy of First Nations people across Australia (where there remains a significant gap between the life expectancies of non Indigenous and Indigenous people in Australia).
Clothing the Gap co-founder and managing director, Laura Thompson, says the idea to sell merchandise actually began as a way to encourage Aboriginal people to take part in the health initiatives they were running. “Then we saw an opportunity to sell T-shirts to all Australians – Aboriginal and non Indigenous people – and perhaps the sale of those T-shirts could fund the grassroots health promotion activities,” says Thompson.
“We started as health promotion practitioners, we never imagined at all that we’d be running a fashion label and a foundation.”
Clothing the Gap has grown so much that it’s had to expand its operations, opening a retail store in December 2020. The store, situated in prime position on Brunswick’s bustling Sydney Road, was designed and fitted out in partnership with not-for-profit design and research practice, Office. “We’re really excited to have what we call a 'Blak shop' and that we’re able to create that street front visibility,” says Thompson. Thompson, a Gunditjmara woman, also created the store’s ceiling artwork, a mesmerising grid of repeating linework inspired by traditional designs and reflective of Clothing the Gap’s core values: to elevate, educate, motivate and advocate. “The way that they’re positioned in the ceiling, to me they look like pelts in a possum skin cloak,” she says.
Peel your eyes away from the ceiling and you’ll find a modern space where you can discover Clothing the Gap’s range of products, such as hats, jumpers, accessories (including, as a true sign of the times, face masks) and T-shirts, all of which are created with purpose and to start conversations. Unlike online, the retail store will also be a number of seconds and sample items, with Thompson encouraging everyone to visit in person.
“Have the experience of what a Blak shop looks and feels like and to have those conversations in-person about what the T-shirts represent.”
One of the most common questions Thompson says the organisation receives is whether non Indigenous allies can wear Clothing the Gap’s kit. “Our DMs were always full with questions like ‘I want to support Aboriginal people but I don’t want to offend anyone, I don’t want this to be seen as cultural appropriation and I just want to check before I buy something’,” she says. “So we decided to create symbols to help people with their experience. And to reduce the load on us having to have those conversations all the time.” Shoppers will notice symbols on products to indicate which items can be worn by anyone (“ally friendly”) and which products have been designed specifically for First Nations people to wear (“mob only”).
She adds: “The other important thing is that if someone is wearing a ‘not the date to celebrate’ T-shirt and there are no Aboriginal people at the barbecue or on the beach that day, those conversations are still happening in our absence. These are conversations that all people should be having.”
Find Clothing the Gap’s retail store at 744 Sydney Road, Brunswick. The store is open Tuesday to Fridays from 11am to 6pm, and weekends from 10am to 5pm.