Newtown-Based Fashion Label The Social Outfit Has Opened a Big New Retail Space on King Street
The new shop features sustainable, recycled and repurposed materials, in keeping with the label's ethos.
Since 2014, The Social Outfit has been providing refugees and new migrants with employment, education and training, all from its King Street base in Newtown. The results are evident in the fashion label's clothing — and now, thanks to a stack of generous donations, the team is selling and making its wares from a new retail space and manufacturing headquarters up the road.
Created in collaboration with multi-award winning interior designer Nina Maya, the 188 King Street shop features sustainable, recycled and repurposed materials, in keeping with The Social Outfit's ethos. Customers will notice splashes of marble and exotic stones — all off-cuts donated by Marrickville's Granite Marble Works — as well as velvet curtains and curved mirrors. Meanwhile, a mix of recycled timber and cardboard fabric rolls have been transformed into displays. The palette is a combination of whites, nudes and natural stone, intended to complement the brand's bright colours and bold patterns.
"Working with The Social Outfit on their store fit-out was the perfect way for me to give back in a purposeful way. I designed the shop fit-out of their first store in 2014, and it is an honour to design their new home and be a part of this next chapter," said Maya.
The opening coincides with the launch of The Social Outfit's new spring-summer collection for 2018–19, King Botanic, which is a collaboration between various community groups and artist Kate Banazi. Every season sees a new partnership, with big names Romance Was Born and Carla Zampatti working on previous projects.
"With community support from some of Australia's leading fashion designers, we are able to divert excess and unused textiles otherwise headed to landfill... we wanted to carry this sustainability story throughout our new store fit-out," said Jackie Ruddock, The Social Outfit's founder.
The Social Outfit is at 188 King Street, Newtown.
Images: Luisa Brimble.
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