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 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.”
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”). Thomspon 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.
