Clothing the Gaps’ New Flagship Shop Will Be Its Last Store Opening for a While

Aboriginal-led social enterprise Clothing the Gaps has moved into its new – and now only – location. The B-Corp-certified and Ethical Clothing Australia accredited fashion label is now calling the heritage-listed Mariana Hardwick Building, on the corner of Sparta Place in Brunswick, home.

The new flagship space marks a new chapter for the business, but getting here has been more a marathon than a sprint. This is the third store (four, if you count a pop-up) Clothing the Gaps has set up in its four-year history. Clothing the Gaps’ first store opened in 2021 (just 750 metres from the new shop) and its second store opened in Northcote in 2022.

The Northcote outpost shut its doors in March 2023, and the original Brunswick location’s last day of trading was Christmas Eve. Clothing the Gaps decided to head into 2025 with just one physical shop. “It’s a lot of hard work, opening and closing stores. It’s been a really grounding experience,” Clothing the Gaps co-founder and Gunditjmara woman Laura Thompson tells Broadsheet.

“Like many retailers right now, we’ve felt the impact of financial pressures … and we’ve seen a decline in sales,” Thompson says, adding that the new storefront is a better location, and although it’s smaller, the rent is also lower. “It’s a win-win for us and helps ensure that Clothing the Gaps is sustainable and around for future generations.”

Around the time the second store opened, Thompson noted that most Clothing the Gaps customers were coming from the inner-northern suburbs of Melbourne. Having two stores in a four-kilometre radius was great for retail sales, but Thompson realised the advocacy side of Clothing the Gaps was adding an extra level of strain on her team.

“We decided that for the safety and the mental wellbeing of our staff that less was actually more … If we created one flagship store and put everything into that, then that’s the most appropriate way we can support our staff.”

Aside from its values-led apparel, Clothing the Gaps has been imperative in leading various campaigns pertaining to First Nations people. Since its origins, the social enterprise has been campaigning against the celebration of January 26. In 2022, it was able to free the Aboriginal flag from copyright. The brand was also committed to supporting the Voice to Parliament referendum.

“It became more difficult to maintain a safe Blak space, especially in the lead-up to the referendum,” Thompson says, adding how customers (well-meaning or otherwise) would use retail staff as a sounding board for Indigenous issues.

“We have mob in our heart and everyone else in mind,” Thompson says. All employees working in-store are First Nations and wear name tags with their mob name listed … to build connection points with other mob,” she says. “That’s the most important thing; for mob to feel it is a safe, Blak space for them.”

The space itself is eye-catching, and the team have made it even more so. “It’s a really beautiful building with high ceilings. What we loved most about it was its natural light and the fact that you can see the building from both sides,” she says. “There’s a whole lot of red, black and yellow. We’ve got the pride, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander flags hanging from the ceiling.”

The store is still a work in progress; it’s only been a month since it opened. The team plans to wrap the mezzanine level with text in different Indigenous languages from across Australia and wants to bring in a metre-long neon wominjeka (meaning “to come with purpose”) sign. Thompson’s also particularly fond of the custom-made feature couch from Dowel Jones in the space.

For non-Indigenous allies, Thompson wants the place to be a space for education. There are iPads where visitors can learn more about the profit-for-purpose business and sign petitions (like the Not a Date to Celebrate campaign).

“Clothing the Gaps has always been a destination spot for people visiting Naarm. Now they can get a coffee and a wine [in Sparta Place], it’s become even more of a special sort of gathering place… Brunswick has our hearts.”

Clothing the Gaps
Shop 18/459A Sydney Rd, Brunswick

Opening Hours
Mon 1pm–5pm
Tue to Fri 10am–5pm
Sat 11am–4pm
Sun 11am–3pm

clothingthegaps.com.au
@clothingthegaps