Jess Meany launched her eponymous fashion label in 2019 with the goal of creating loosely tailored, low impact pieces. Her garments combine layers of various textiles sourced across the U.S. from deadstock to vintage fabrics. Meany’s beautifully handcrafted, limited edition items are designed and sewn in her Los Angeles studio. SHEESH! had the pleasure of sitting down with Jess Meany to find out more about the creative goals and inspirations driving the expansion of her label.
Who is Jess Meany?
Someone who is always learning, having the best time, not taking everything too seriously, and always learning the lyrics to a new song just in case there ever is an impromptu karaoke.
How did you get the idea for your business?
I’ve been a material developer my whole career and I’ve worked at some really great contemporary women’s and menswear brands. One of the difficulties associated with my job was figuring out how to manage obsolete fabrics. Sometimes production yards are just damaged or sample yards aren’t completely used, so I wanted to find a way to answer the questions of what to do with all this extra material. How do we save it from going to the landfill and how can we give it a special life? So that was the inspiration or start behind my brand.
What was the mission of the brand from the outset?
The mission of the brand is to take forgotten fabrics and give them a next life chapter. At the outset we mainly used home textiles and as the brand grew we were able to use and find more outlets for material from the apparel industry.
Where do you source your fabrics?
We mostly purchase deadstock from deadstock wholesalers which allows us to find everything we need in one go.
How would you define your pieces?
I think any designer connects to products that they would want or inspires them. The majority of my pieces are loosely tailored pieces that combine both masculine and feminine components, which are really important aspects for me. I want people to be able to dress my pieces up or down and still feel comfortable while looking put together.
What’s your role within your brand?
I am 99 percent of the brand. I do everything from planning the product, to creating the patterns, cutting and sewing them, as well as the photographing and marketing. I’m trying to be a smart business woman and create a business that is sustainable in its materials and products but also in its business growth.
What have you learned from running your brand?
One of the things I’m learning and I think I’ll never stop learning is how to pace myself and not burn out and be okay with establishing boundaries. To be proud of myself and celebrate what I have accomplished so far before I move onto my next goal.
Any future company goals?
A future goal of mine is to have the ability to hire staff and be able to work and create a mentorship program in order to foster learning relationships because I really appreciated them when I was working in fashion. I think it creates wonderful connections and gives people opportunities to learn the many facets about a brand which I think is so special, especially for small and midsized brands. I would love to give back that way.
How would you describe the ethos of your customer?
They are sustainably focused and patient! A lot of my pieces are made to order so many of my customers are really involved in the process and have the patience to wait for custom specs and textiles. You see a customer that is evolving and becoming more educated on what they are buying and being more interested in which I think is the best thing possible for the planet since we already have so many things.
What experiences influence or inspire your design process?
A lot of my inspiration comes from the landscape of southern California, which is a landscape I hadn’t seen prior to moving to California. So getting to explore the very arid and desert landscape has definitely influenced the color palette of my collection. The southern Californian landscape has influenced my desire to make a lot of layering pieces due to the temperature fluctuation found in this state.
When did you know you wanted to have a career in fashion?
When I was fourteen I really got into fashion and apparel design. My dad would take these pants that I made out of fleece, which had fringe at the bottom, to local stores and ask them if they wanted to sell them. They said sure, we will entertain this, and would put them in their storefront windows and they would sell out. So, it was really fun to explore and try my hand at something new when I was so young and still in school.
Do you look up to any specific designers?
I definitely look up to Mara Hoffman. It’s just so exciting to see how they shake things up in fashion. It was really exciting to see how they switched up their whole business model and became really sustainable, even down to their supply chain. At first they got a lot of pushback because everything was going to change from their price points to the way they sold to their retailers. I think it is just so admirable when you have such a big footprint and you do something new and necessary.
Any advice for someone starting out in fashion or planning to do so?
You’re always going to be learning and making mistakes. You’re always going to trip up and fail on a micro level, but the fun part about that is that you will recalibrate and one day you’re going to succeed in it. One day all the things you learned and didn’t get right the first time are all just going to happen because you kept being consistent.
Explore more from Jess Meany on her Instagram and website!
This interview has been edited and condensed.
