Startup Develops Women’s Work Wear
Local Edmonton startup is designing work wear for women. Jess Black will launch her new clothing line in the Spring of 202 under the name of Jess Black Inc., which targets the growing number of females choosing to work in the trade industry. The clothing will be fire resistant with a stretchy fabric. This clothing is being developed with the help of U of A researchers. Jess Black found inspiration for her line of clothing after working as a bar tender, equipment operator and first responder. She decided to create women’s clothing that you believed would be comfortable and safe under protective gear. Black admits that men’s work wear is not very attractive and that women are, unfortunately, forced to wear it because that is all that is available to them. It is not only unattractive but women also find that it doesn’t fit correctly. There are also very few options, which means that there is little room for individual style preferences.
She is targeting the increasing number of women who are working in the trade industry throughout Canada, which includes some 68, 800 women working in the electrical, industrial, equipment operation, construction, and maintenance fields. This is according to Statistics Canada’s Labour Force Survey has compiled.
After leaving her job operating heavy equipment in 2016, Black decided to focus on her start-up business, Jess Black Inc., full-time. She said it was hard to find a lender or organizations that would support her research and development. However, it was through an internship program through the non-profit organization Mitacs that Black was able to put up $30,000 per year and was also awarded funds that would eventually allow her to hire a post-doctoral fellow enrolled in the clothing, materials, and textiles specialization of the Human Ecology department at U of A. Testing has been taking place at the university’s textiles and clothing lab under the supervision of Patricia Dolez, assistant professor. They would eventually create a stretch fabric, along with Black.
Black admits that she will be proud if she can see her clothing worn by the women that she is designing it for. They deserve better looking, more fashionable clothing to wear for work. Her team has been matching fabrics that are fire resistant and that will not deteriorate after continued washing. They wanted something that would last. Getting the clothing to this point would require a lot of time in the lab and to the textile manufacturers located in Quebec. She had to find the right fibers and fabric to create the correct combination of protective properties that would stretch.
The founder of Jess Black Inc., feels that it is just a matter of time before it will be necessary for first-responders to wear a completely fire resistant uniform. Most of the clothing worn in the trade industry is created from synthetic fibers, which are prone to melt. However, when fire resistant materials are too close to flames, it will automatically self-extinguish. Which is why she insist on creating fire-resistant clothing for women.