Not-for-profit fashion label The Social Studio has relocated its retail store from Collingwood Yards to 229 Brunswick Street, Fitzroy.
The store stocks The Social Studio’s own label, which is made at its studio about a 15-minute walk away. It also carries work from community creatives including Remuse, Music in Exile, Zarić Jewellery and The Rochelle Fish.
The new space is also home to the brand’s mending program, which offers creative mending, alterations and knitwear repairs. It hosts workshops as well, from community-focused Survival Sewing sessions to ticketed public classes in Sashiko stitching and darning.
Founded in 2009, The Social Studio provides training and employment opportunities for refugee and migrant creatives and uses fashion to build their skills and pathways into the industry.
“We are excited to create more opportunities for our community through retail, mending, creative workshops, job training and traineeships, while continuing to support the incredible talent that exists within our community,” general manager Eve Walton-Healy said.
Breathe Architects designed the store in a colourway of blues. Translucent icons across the top of the shopfront window draw on the everyday lives of The Social Studio’s team members. The back of the store hosts a lounge area.
Walton-Healy said the opening was about more than adding a new store.
“It’s about creating a space where people feel welcome, where creativity is celebrated, skills are shared, and new opportunities can grow,” she said.