Unlike other fashion labels, success at The Social Outfit isn’t measured by profit, but by impact. The Sydney-based social enterprise, retailer, manufacturing studio, educator and charity has audacious goals.

Australia’s fashion and textile manufacturing industries have struggled in recent years. Household names have shut, locally made labels have switched to offshore production and international ultra-fast fashion retailers have skyrocketed in popularity. With the goal to help refugee women get their first jobs in Australia and a dedication to ethical production, The Social Outfit is a beacon of light among the debris.

“We like to say that our supporters wear their values,” The Social Outfit’s CEO, Jacquie Macdougall, tells Broadsheet. “They want slower fashion, they want something that is a little bit more environmentally sound, a little bit more ethically made … They want the same Australia that we want, [one that] is welcoming and supportive of our new population.”

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This September marks 10 years of The Social Outfit’s retail store in Newtown, following a pop-up shop at The Rocks. Entrepreneur Jackie Ruddock founded it in 2012 inspired by Melbourne’s The Social Studio. The Social Outfit’s two-fold approach involves employing refugee women and reusing donated fabrics from Australian brands to create a self-sufficient circular fashion model.

The Social Outfit’s signature pieces, manufactured in Marrickville, are colourful, exuberant and joyful. Bold prints and exaggerated silhouettes contribute to this impression, but it’s the story behind every stitch, every maker, that leaves a bigger impact.

In its decade of operation, The Social Outfit has trained more than 1000 refugees and new migrants and employed more than 100. After their tenure at The Social Outfit, 86 per cent of workers move on to further employment. And for 82 per cent of those employees, The Social Outfit was their first Australian job.

“There has been a constant year-on-year impact. I don’t want to really describe it as growth, because while that is part of it, it’s the ongoing impact [that matters],” Macdougall says.

The Social Outfit addresses barriers facing women refugees. “They are complex and they are varied. It’s the lack of English language, it’s the lack of work experience, [and it’s the] cultural issues and adversity [they face] to get to where they are,” The Social Outfit’s head of impact, Beverley Brock, tells Broadsheet.

The organisation’s first point of contact with new migrant women is typically its community sewing classes, hosted by House of Welcome, a not-for-profit in Western Sydney. “It’s usually the first time the women have left the house or got involved with something outside of their family duties,” Brock says. “We have a waitlist for that program.”

From there, there’s a nine-week industrial sewing course designed to improve refugee and new migrant women’s existing industrial sewing machine skills. Women who’ve completed that course and wish to progress can enrol in The Social Outfit’s paid work experience sewing program, Earn and Learn, where they’ll make pieces sold in The Social Outfit’s store while learning about financial literacy and, soon, repair techniques.

“We will try and recruit them into our sewing team, when we have capacity and funding,” Brock says. “We also work with our programs and employment transitions employee pathways manager to try and transition them to ongoing employment. It’s not always possible, but we’re trying to move to that model where, if they can’t work with us, we find an alternative.”

Separately, The Social Outfit offers a retail training program for young refugee women to gain retail work experience and customer service skills, as well as securing their first Australian job. Trainees have gone on to work at The Iconic, Zimmermann and local cafes.

“The main goal is to work if they want and need to work. Sometimes they just need that social connection and to sew and that gives them peace of mind and a happy place,” Brock says.

Kobra, a graduate of the course, is The Social Outfit’s community coordinator. She works with about 20 referral partners to find, coordinate and look after women in the community sewing classes.

Past students are The Social Outfit’s lifeblood. Fezeh, once a student, is now the community sewing class’s tutor. Xiuyan Han, who came to Australia with zero sewing experience, is now a senior sewing technician.

In July, Han sewed the suit governor-general Sam Mostyn wore for her swearing-in ceremony. Bianca Spender donated the pattern and Bec & Bridge donated the fabric. It’s this community-driven attitude and collaboration that helps The Social Outfit thrive.

“When I am sewing something, it’s from my heart,” Han says. “I feel it in my heart.”

To celebrate its tenth birthday The Social Outfit has designed the Amplify silk collection. The process to develop it encapsulates the organisation’s whole approach. The Amplify print was created in a workshop with the Story Factory, a not-for-profit creative writing centre for young people in under-resourced communities. It was then developed into a digital print by Paris-based artist Clementine Barnes.

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