Alternative Eco Launch

goal

Design a branding system for a new collection of sustainable styles for Alternative Apparel — CAMPAIGN + MARKETING ASSETS FOR A WHOLESALE / CONSUMER-FACING LAUNCH.

stakeholders

Director of Merchandising
Director of Wholesale Sales
CEO

audience

Wholesale to Retail (market launch/sell-in - Aug 2019)
Retailers, Key Accounts & Partners
Direct to Consumer (in-season launch- Jan 2020)

process + Approach

Working alongside product development and design teams I conducted competitive research on sustainable brands’ outward branding and labeling. Overall concepts were done in tandem with line creation to ensure cohesion. The main touchpoints consisted of outward decoration/branding, back neck label system, hangtags, and creative assets for in-market needs: lookbooks & online selling platforms (NuOrder) along with AA’s consumer website later that year. Once initial concepts were complete, we pitched to our stakeholders for buy-in. Overall direction was approved and we moved into sourcing substrates factoring in materials that fit within our “sustainable” constraints and contained FSC-certification or an equivalent to work with our full design system. We were able to source a recycled swift tag to tie the whole package together and further enhance our eco message.

I looped in my design team to execute and produce both lifestyle and product shoots to be used in the launch. We worked with our lead apparel designers on shot citing, design callouts, and copywriting.

outcome

Together the team was able to elevate the line while being able to highlight the sustainable benefits of each fabric while also using sustainable materials and substrates to further enhance our eco message. We produced compelling visual assets for our reps to showcase during market week and were able to build upon the following season with the addition of a lifestyle video. The customers loved the overall aesthetic of the line and branding system and continued investment in eco-messaging that they have come to expect from the brand. The lookbook and visuals were used in both organic and paid marketing while being used in larger key account presentations (Nordstrom, Bloomingdales, and Macy’s.)

During our consumer-facing launch, we were able to add an additional eco layer by introducing our new compostable non-plastic mailer bags in place of the traditional plastic polybag. We also launched a dedicated landing page to tell the full collection’s story.

RESPONSIBILITIES

Overall creative concept + ideation
Label, Trim & Tag Design
Substrate selection (paper, twill, and fasteners)
Vendor Management (Avery-Dennison)
Copywriting
Photo Art Direction
Shot List creation
Sample Management
Design Direction of printed lookbook
Design Direction of UX / landing page