Fashion pioneer JAM The Label to close after eight years after business struggle

A beloved Australian fashion label is closing its doors after almost eight years, with its founders saying the business is no longer financially viable.

Melbourne-based JAM The Label was founded in 2019 by occupational therapists and former disability support workers Emma Clegg and Molly Rogers.

The pair created clothing designed to make dressing easier, more comfortable and dignified, with their garments also available as low-cost assistive technology through the NDIS.

Clegg and Rogers announced the closure in a message to customers on September 9, saying they were “so sad to be closing” and that “this definitely isn’t the outcome we wanted”.

The idea for JAM began with two of Clegg and Rogers’ clients in disability support, Jack and Maddie. Their initials inspired the label’s name.

The founders had seen first-hand how difficult getting dressed could be, describing it as “a task that was taking a long time, was not easily done and was uncomfortable”.

When they searched for alternatives, they found clothes that were comfortable and functional but lacked the style young people wanted.

JAM was their answer: clothing designed to make dressing easier without compromising fashion or self-expression.

Its garments incorporated details including magnetic fastenings, adjustable features, flat seams and tag-free designs to make dressing easier for people with different physical, cognitive and sensory needs.

The founders have always argued adaptive clothing should not be confined to disability.

It can also help people recovering from injury or surgery, older people losing dexterity and people with sensory sensitivities.

Clegg has previously described how her grandfather, who had dementia, used one of JAM’s magnetic-zip hoodies so he could continue dressing himself.

That focus on independence and dignity was not just measured in sales.

“We’ve had customers reach out weekly with stories about being able to do their own shirt up independently for the first time ever, or speaking about having the confidence to go on dates or to work feeling good in their clothes for the first time,” Clegg and Rogers told 7NEWS.com.au.