Please give us your elevator pitch:

The Social Outfit is a fashion label with a difference. 100% of our profits go towards providing training employment to people from refugee and new migrant communities in clothing production, retail, design and marketing.

What problem is your business solving?

Right now, there is only 1 job opening for every 13 job seekers in Australia. Even before COVID-19, refugee women were already one of the most under-employed group of people in Australia, facing incredibly complex barriers to employment such as limited language skills, lack of local work experience, limited job seeker support and networks. 

Tell us three unique things about your business:

We are sustainable – we use remnant fabric in our collections and have saved 7 tonnes of fabric from landfill to date.

We support women refugees – we are the only clothing label in Australia that exists with the purpose of training and employing refugee and new migrant women.

We are creative – we collaborate with refugee and new migrant artists to develop community prints which feature in our clothing collections

What can attendees expect to see from you at TCS?

Ethical clothing and accessories for bold creative women, all made in Australia by refugee and new migrant women. Our CEO Camilla Schippa will also be appearing on a panel discussing the topic of ethical fashion (more info on that here)

Can you tell us a little about your background and where the inspiration came from for your business?

Refugee women face the highest barriers to employment in Australia. But they come with amazing skills and creativity. We decided to create The Social Outfit – a Fashion Label with a Difference – to celebrate their creativity and put their skills to good use. We wanted to make and sell clothes that empower women rather than exploit them!