A new spray suit, created in Queensland and designed to offer a combination of comfort and safety for female automotive spray painters, has been launched and is now available to the collision repair industry.
Officially launched in April at an event in Townsville, the Apex suit from Vesta Workwear is a protective spray suit designed with a contoured fit, improved movement and some very useful practical features. The suit includes side-access zippers, rear pockets, a cotton-lined hood, adjustable wrist and ankle closures, optional knee pad inserts and an articulated rear panel designed to improve comfort when crouching, reaching or working low on vehicles.
The suit, and the Vesta Workwear brand, is the brainchild of Anne McClure, owner of McClure Refinishing in Townsville, and the launch marked a significant milestone in a journey that began in 2024, when McClure Refinishing took on its first female apprentice trainee. Anne said she quickly discovered that sourcing appropriate protective clothing for her new employee seemed harder than it should have been.
The common answer to her enquiries when searching for an appropriate spray suit was that women should wear small or extra-small men’s suits. For Anne, that was simply not good enough.
“I asked, ‘Do you have something for women?’, ‘What are our options?’ And the answers was always, ‘They just wear the small or the extra-small men.”
That approach, said Anne, failed to recognise the practical realities of body shape, comfort, safety and movement in the spray booth.
“Some women find it okay to be using the current options. And that’s fine . . . If you’ve got a suit that fits you and works for the way that you work, that’s great. That’s what we want.
“However, there are so many women in the industry, and coming into the industry, that the current offerings don’t cater for.”
After repeatedly being told there was little market for a women-specific suit, Anne decided to dig a little further. She ran a survey that confirmed to her there was a real issue – 100 per cent of respondents said they were unhappy with the current suit options and those responses came from women in the trade as well as business owners employing women. It was crucial information and a pivotal moment.
“That was probably the spark that made me think, ‘Okay, well, let’s do this,” she said.
With feedback from staff, her experience running a collision repair business, and her own practical understanding of garment construction, Anne drew inspiration from other one-piece clothing – such as ski suits and race suits – and included her own concepts and ideas to develop the Apex suit.
Made from materials including calendared polyester with carbon fibre thread to help reduce static build-up – an important consideration in a paint environment where dust and contamination can affect job quality – the suit is innovative enough, particularly with the inclusion of the articulated back panel, that Anne has a patent pending on the design.
While the suit was launched officially in April, it actually went on sale in March, being available through the Vesta Workwear website. Once it did, the response was immediate and, for Anne, quite impactful.
“20 minutes after the website went live, I had my first sale,” she said.
The order came from a second-year apprentice in South Australia and Anne, delighted with the first sale, messaged the buyer to say ‘thanks’ and to let her know she was the very first purchaser. Anne was thrilled with the reply she received – a message that confirmed why the Vesta Workwear project matters.
“She sent me this really lovely message back. It said, ‘Thank you for making us feel seen,” said Anne.
That sentiment sits at the heart of Vesta Workwear. While the Apex suit is practical, Anne said it also sends a message.
“One of the big issues in our industry is around retention,” she said. “I firmly believe that if we can provide the right equipment and tooling, regardless of whether someone is male or female . . . it makes everyone’s job easier, faster, and more productive. At the end of the day, every business end-goal is profit. And if you’ve got staff that are being catered for, looked after, and happy, they’re going to be producing. That’s just business 101.”
While the Apex suit is the foundation product for Vesta Workwear, Anne does see opportunities to grow with additional products and into other trades and industries. A wash bag is already available to help users extend the life of the suit and reduce waste, while interest has already come from sectors beyond collision repair, including from businesses with women working in industrial painting and other environments.
From a frustrating search for suitable gear to the launch of a new workwear brand, Anne’s journey is a clear statement – women in the trades deserve equipment designed for them. The next step on Anne’s journey is to present the Apex suit and Vesta Workwear to the wider industry at the Collision Repair Expo, being held in Melbourne from April 14-16. Anne will be showcasing the brand at stand AA09.
Source: Motor Trader e-Magazine (May 2026)
14 May 2026