Shona Joy, an Australian fashion label founded in 2000, is shutting down after 26 years, with founder Shona Thatcher informing staff of the closure, Yahoo Finance reported. Thatcher said the business had grown to a scale she could not manage alongside being a mother, and that she wanted to step back while still successful.
Thatcher launched the brand at Bondi Beach and Paddington markets, where she first sold her designs. The label is stocked at retailers across dozens of countries, including David Jones and The Iconic, and is best known for event dressing, particularly for brides, bridesmaids and wedding guests.
Between 2020 and 2025, the brand sold 38,000 units of its La Lune maxi dress. Thatcher and her family relocated to Byron Bay five years ago, while the company's office remained in Sydney's Rosebery.
Thatcher described the closure as an emotional decision and the hardest she had ever made. She said producing four annual collections of 80 garments each, alongside bridal and bridesmaid ranges, placed intense demands on her, and that the business could not continue at its current scale. Thatcher had been considering closing the business for four years and considered selling it but could not find a suitable buyer.
She will keep her intellectual property. Thatcher said she was closing on a high and intended to end the business while it remained successful, not because of financial pressure, though she acknowledged fast fashion had made conditions more challenging.
Trading will wind down by January, with workers set to receive entitlements that include long service leave and redundancy payments. The brand's online store will continue selling remaining stock until the new year, giving customers a limited window to purchase from the label while stock lasts.
Reporting: Yahoo Finance, 7NEWS
Written by Pick & Scroll News from the reporting and documents linked above.
