About Me
Hi! I'm Jade, a Fashion Textiles Graduate from UWE Bristol, UK.
Jade Meinema is a designer specialising in sustainable materials and practices. Using waste, deadstock and biological materials, she focuses on applying them as a systematic, future-based approach.
My practice puts sustainability at the forefront of design, alongside a strong influence of workwear and functionality. After 3 years as a seamstress, I fuse my construction skills with my ethos to produce garments that exhibit the potential of unconventional materials. I find that the limitations of waste materials stimulate creativity in me.
INSPIRATION
My inspiration for my final project took place on a walk along the Avon and Kennet towpath.
I design for speculative future scenarios, using the material as a starting point and taking inspiration from objects or experiences around me. Many projects sprout from thinking about circular design strategies for a specific textile, progressing into its application / relevance to fashion.
My final project, 'Along the Towpath' is intended for the year 2030, in a world where the public has moved onto the canals due to rising sea levels. The mooring rope, materials, habits and needs of narrowboat dwellers strongly influence my design process. I take insights from archival workwear and deconstructing existing garments to inform shape.
MY WORK
PORTFOLIOS
Final Project Outcome - Apron and Waders
Technical pack
Fashion systems thinking
Research
Research
Technical sampling
Development
Line up
Outcome
Helen Kirkum Collab
Helen Kirkum Collab
Helen Kirkum Outcome
Mycelium Futures
Mycelium Futures
Mycelium Futures
Mycelium Futures
Mycelium Futures Outcome
DETAIL
Textile sampling
In early research for my final project I used Agar Agar powder and herbs / food waste as natural dyes. Experiments and observations enabled me to decide how this could be applied to fashion and its potential. The sample dyed with turmeric was most successful, alongside old coffee grounds and spirulina. I played around with surface pattern, colour, and consistency.
"A strategy of materials diversity aims to temper cotton and polyester's market dominance so that more resource-efficient and culturally resourceful fibres can begin to flourish." -Kate Fletcher
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