Meet the woman behind the fashion brand Jeuje Clothing

LIFE BEFORE JEUJE CLOTHING

For the past thirteen years I had a successful career in sport management, I was the first female to manage five (5) England teams and the first ever manager of the England Knights team. On my return to Australia, I became the first female to manage the Australian Men’s Water Polo team. I loved my role and even though it was a very male dominated industry and environment, eventually my resistant male colleagues saw me as an equal. 

WHY I STARTED JEUJE CLOTHING  

I have always struggled with my body shape since I was fifteen, I surfed and played rep netball but was naturally blessed with boobs and solid bum/thighs, not the typical body shape for those sports.

I remember using my bra to surf when I was sixteen as I couldn’t find anything that wouldn’t flash the guys and after a few derogatory comments I started to wear my brothers’ rash shirts and boardshorts which were three times to big, unflattering but they covered me up.

My best friend Chelby was also blessed with a G cup bust and would always encourage me to embrace them instead of hiding them. Her advice gave this insecure sixteen-year-old courage and confidence. While living in England I found clothes that were a better fit, making me feel more confident, this gave me the idea to start designing.

When I returned back to Australia, not only did I realise that I was still buying clothes from the UK, but my friends with curves were too, struggling to find clothes that felt great for their body shape.

This is when I decided to start looking into what I needed to do in order to turn my designs into actual products. I started emailing manufacturers, meeting with pattern makers, material companies, you name it I did it. I educated myself on all the areas I needed to know about. I explored endless manufacturers over the past four years, trying to find the right one that had the knowledge and willingness I needed and convince them to make 10-20 sizes not the standard 5 sizes.

I reached a point where I made the decision to close the chapter on my sport career and go 100% into my new adventure and Jeuje Clothing was born.

WHAT IS THE JEUJE CLOTHING PURPOSE PROJECT – GIVING BACK

I have always volunteered to support people with disabilities and have had the pleasure of managing the England Wheelchair team. This gave me a real insight into different disabilities and their capabilities.

Four the past four (4) years I have been a volunteer board member with the Disabled Surfers Association, a charity that I am very passionate about.  DSA runs events for people with all disabilities for the opportunity to participate in surfing, play on the beach and meet new acquaintances.

I remember thinking to myself how do I just chose one charity? I wanted to help as many charities as I can and from my experience in trying to recruit people to volunteer, I knew that not everyone will feel connected to that one charity. By linking the charity with a design and an influencer we connect the influencer, the charity and people by a common interest. I can’t wait to see how much we have supported in years to come.

Want to find out more about Prue's journey head over to www.prueegan.com