17c起草社区

Transform Transwear, a Melbourne-based business dedicated to creating comfortable clothing for trans and nonbinary people, has been named a finalist in the .

This annual award honours individuals and organisations that make Melbourne a more inclusive, creative, and forward-thinking place.

For Transform Transwear, making it to the final shortlist is an opportunity to the trans experience.

鈥淚t鈥檚 awesome,鈥� says founder Simone Kelly, 鈥淟et鈥檚 get this stuff out into the mainstream so more people become aware of it.鈥澛�

Bound to succeed

Launched seven months ago after years of development, Transform Transwear emerged from a gap in the Australian market for , affordable chest binders.听

A binder is a compression garment often worn by trans men, , and anyone seeking a more masculine chest shape.

Until recent years, Australians have only been able to buy binders from overseas online retailers. This means that binders have been expensive to ship, slow to arrive, impossible to try on, and difficult to return. The intimate nature of these items has also made the market a target for scammers.

The company鈥檚 founder, Simone Kelly, created Transform Transwear after struggling to find binders for her stepson.听

鈥淚t started when Eli at 13 came out as trans, and we found it really hard to find binders. At that time there were a couple of Australian businesses who ostensibly stocked binders 鈥� but didn鈥檛 really, they were always out of stock and we could never get them. So we had to do the gamble of ordering things from overseas.鈥�

鈥淚t took a really long time, and the sizing and the fit and the comfort levels were such an enormous gamble.鈥�

鈥淚 was thinking, 鈥榣et鈥檚 get some binders into Australia and make it easier for people to access them, because it鈥檚 such a basic item of clothing.鈥� Like, imagine not being able to source 鈥� it鈥檚 ridiculous.鈥�

鈥淲e had to order them from all over the place 鈥� we were ordering them from Etsy, from Europe and America, everywhere we could get them. And I was just really angry and upset when they arrived, because the quality was really poor, and they weren鈥檛 cheap!鈥�

鈥淚 thought my child deserved better, that鈥檚 for sure. I just felt a massive sense of injustice. I just thought it should be better. I thought 鈥榮omeone should be doing something about it, but no one鈥檚 doing it, so I鈥檒l just do it.鈥欌��

Transform Transwear has created a close-knit community hub

Beyond creating its own designs, Transform Transwear has also built a around education and , offering resources on gender-affirming care and creating a safe space for customers to ask questions without judgement.听

As well as designing binders, the business also runs style and information events catering to people just starting out in their transition, and involves the community in their design process.

鈥淲e鈥檝e had surveys on the website, we鈥檝e got people who will be rigorously testing every single garment from the sample stage and giving us feedback, we鈥檝e got a [new] sports binder and an AFL player who will be doing all the testing for us 鈥� so we鈥檙e really letting the community guide us into what direction they want us to go in.

“And we鈥檝e just started doing top surgery post-operative binders that we鈥檙e supplying to a surgeon in Melbourne.鈥�

Simone emphasises that the company鈥檚 mission is as much about sharing resources and normalising trans experiences as it is about providing .

鈥淲e鈥檝e got so many huge plans. We鈥檙e not interested in stocking things that are already in the market 鈥� we really want to and make things easier and help people find clothes that fit properly and make them feel really good.鈥�

鈥淚鈥檓 not really interested in just . I鈥檝e always wanted to get to a place where we are a resource for other people and we can hopefully make other people鈥檚 journeys a little bit simpler. Just trying to make people feel less alone and hold their hand through their journey.鈥�

鈥淲e鈥檝e always wanted to be a . That鈥檚 been number one really, more than anything else.鈥�

鈥淚 do think we can make a difference because we have the determination to do it.”

Transform Transwear in good company among queer finalists

Being a finalist for the Melbourne Awards places the business under a much larger spotlight.听

This public recognition, Simone says, is an indication they鈥檙e going in the right direction. 鈥淚 got contacted to apply, and I thought 鈥榦h yeah OK, I鈥檒l apply鈥� but it鈥檚 actually been really wonderful.鈥澛�

鈥淲e had to go before a panel and present and answer lots of questions. I kind of enjoyed it in the end because they were all such interesting people doing interesting things.鈥�

鈥淚t was a genuinely awesome life experience and a great group of people to meet, and as part of this I鈥檓 looking forward to meeting the other finalists when we go to the event next week. It鈥檚 been unexpectedly fulfilling and inspiring.鈥�

Also in the running for this year鈥檚 awards are VincentCare鈥檚 , , and including the Trans Pride Concert.

The winner will be announced in the 2024 Melbourne Awards ceremony on November 9. You can .听