{"id":17421,"date":"2021-10-08T11:34:25","date_gmt":"2021-10-08T01:34:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.mbanews.com.au\/?p=17421"},"modified":"2021-10-11T11:17:37","modified_gmt":"2021-10-11T01:17:37","slug":"jessie-sadler-christina-stephens","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.mbanews.com.au\/jessie-sadler-christina-stephens\/","title":{"rendered":"From Hi-Vis To The High Street: How Jessie Sadler Used Her MBA to Create a Successful Fashion Label That Is Causing Waves On The Iconic"},"content":{"rendered":"

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After more than a decade rising up the ranks of the oil and gas industry, Jessie Sadler had no idea a shopping trip with her mother would turn into a highly successful fashion business that is on the path to global expansion.<\/p>\n

The story of accessible fashion brand Christina Stephens started in 2015, when Jessie and her mother were shopping and her mum had a fall, badly injuring both her elbows.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe was always interested in fashion and looking her best, but the injury combined with some arthritis in her shoulders meant she found it very difficult to access fashion she could get into that was also stylish,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\u201cAfter researching the fashion available in the market for style-conscious women with short or long-term physical challenges, I realised there was a social and business opportunity in front of me,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\"\"Despite having no experience in the fashion industry, in 2017 Jessie left her job with natural gas infrastructure group APA and, armed with the skills and networks acquired while studying her MBA at The University of Queensland, she started Christina Stephens.<\/p>\n

The adaptive and inclusive clothing brand gives women with disabilities and changing bodies access to clothes that bridge the divide between fashion and useability. She\u2019s coming for the gentlemen in early 2022!<\/p>\n

Like the concept, the business\u2019s name also came from close to home and is a blend of Jessie\u2019s mother\u2019s name (Christine) and her father\u2019s name (Stephen).<\/p>\n

\u201cI wanted something that sounded like a high-end fashion brand but also something that was a little personal and meant something to me,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe want to give women (and shortly, men) living with disabilities a choice. A choice in fashion. A choice to be included. A choice to be heard. We want to bring inclusive and adaptive clothing to the mainstream,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n