Adaptive fashion label Jam the label is winding down, with founders Emma Clegg and Molly Rogers confirming the business will stop creating new product and clear its remaining stock at 50 per cent off.
The label was founded in 2019 by Clegg and Rogers, two occupational therapists and disability support workers with a combined 18 years in the disability sector. It was named after Jack and Maddie, two clients whose difficulty finding clothing that was both easy to dress in and worth wearing prompted the pair to build a range of their own. The business launched with a single product, a wheelchair-accessible jacket designed to be put on and taken off in a seated position.
"We are so sad to be closing and this definitely isn't the outcome we wanted," the founders said. "When we launched Jam in our early twenties, we pictured big things, and we are enormously proud of what we have achieved and built. But the reality is that adaptive fashion in Australia just isn't where it needs to be for a small business like ours to be financially viable."
The Melbourne label grew to a 29-piece range built on universal design principles, including magnetic closures in place of buttons, tag-free tops, seated-fit pants and cargo pockets that open one-handed. Recommended retail sat between $30 for the Jam Tee and $159 for the Magnetic Buckle Overalls, with the current clearance halving those prices to $15 and $79.50 respectively. Stock is selling through the brand's own site and its products have also been carried by The Iconic through the retailer's adaptive edit, alongside independent stockists Chooze and Fam.
As a registered NDIS provider, Jam sold its pieces as low-cost assistive technology, allowing customers to claim items through their funding packages. The brand also ran professional development sessions for occupational therapists and support coordinators across Victoria.
Its highest-profile moment came in 2022, when Jam and fellow label Christina Stephens staged Australian Fashion Week's first adaptive runway under the banner of the Adaptive Clothing Collective, a show that drew a standing ovation at Carriageworks and put actor and advocate Chloé Hayden on the runway in the brand's 'Fix The System, Not Me' trench.
The founders pointed to the weight small operators carry in an emerging category. "We have put our heart and soul into Jam but it is tough for small businesses to carry a clothing category and educate a whole market," they said.
Both founders welcomed babies this year and have flagged family as a factor in the timing. Rogers is expected to continue working in the adaptive space, with the founders noting the category deserves a bigger stage in Australia and that the work is not finished.