Share to
mémé
By : Alice Tremblay-Saint-Yves et Justine Cotard
GRANDS PRIX DU DESIGN – 17th edition
Discipline : Student
Categories : Students work / Student - Industrial Design / Product / Furniture : Gold Certification
mémé, n.f.
« Affectionate word for grandmother. »
Alice and Justine’s personal interests, but also their feminist values, guided them towards textile working practices. The two designers thus turned their attention to mending, at the crossroads of the second-hand shopping craze and home craftsmanship, seen as an effective and accessible way to participate in a more sustainable fashion. However, the practice of home sewing is in decline, with the associated loss of know-how due to access to cheap clothing and the configuration of living spaces. Motivated by this need to encourage the practice of mending among non-sewers, they have developed an accessible, rapidly deployable and intelligible proposition.
Mémé is a low-tech mending kit consisting of a hand sewing tool and three templates, distributed in a compact case that can accommodate additional sewing equipment. The product targets a new generation of enthusiasts by tackling the gray area between hand and machine sewing, pairing the affordability of one with the efficiency of the other. The manual tool has an intuitive grip for easy handling, and incorporates principles usually found in a sewing machine, such as a two-thread stitch, a bobbin tension and rewind system, and needle interchangeability. Users can also use needles and bobbins they already own, or purchase them from any sewing store, as the tool is compatible with the formats of products available on the market. As for the templates, they guide the user through three common types of repair and adjustment: hemming, pinching and basic alterations. They can be used on a variety of textiles, thanks to their garment-mounting system, featuring an adhesive surface and magnetic clamps. In this way, Mémé makes it just as easy to adjust that pair of jeans that’s too big on the waist, as it does to hem the sleeve of a cotton sweater!
The choices linked to manufacturing processes and materials were first guided by a reflection on the product’s end-of-life to ensure the separation and sorting of its components. To ensure its lifespan and adoption by target users, it was equally important to consider potential shocks during use and the cost of producing and selling the product. Injection molding therefore makes for a robust, affordable product. Mémé also stems from an in-depth analysis of sewing products on the market, and is the result of aesthetic and formal work that moves away from the semantic codes traditionally attached to the craft industry.
Mémé is thus part of a wider movement towards responsible consumption, responding to the needs of young enthusiasts of craftsmanship and sustainable fashion, and addressing considerations specific to mending rather than garment making. In this way, the product appeals to the non-maker and accompanies them in their learning, proving to everyone that it is possible to mend clothes yourself, with ease.
In 2023, Mémé was the recipient of the Prix de l’École de design de l’Université Laval, the Prix mérite technique awarded by Advanta design and the Bourse des anciens offered by the Lasclay company.
