Brand Development

Product Development:

Originally when I was designing the collaborative product, I was producing garments including hoodie’s, sweatshirts, and tank tops. However, as my research developed and I gained a greater understanding of the two brands I had chosen, I was soon to realise this was not the product design I should go ahead with. I had come to this conclusion as the designs were not representative of the two brands, it was important for me to ensure both brands were identifiable for it to be a successful collaboration, and these designs were not satisfying this standard. My current illustrations (at the time) had great resemblance to Patagonia yet lacked any significance to Sunspel, fortunately I recognised this early into my development and prioritised my time gaining a greater understanding of what type of brand Sunspel is. Understanding both brands into as much depth as possible was essential for me to successfully pull this off. A key turning point for my collaborative piece was when I discovered The North Face and Gucci collaboration. I was inspirated how one brand (in my opinion, The North Face) took the lead and Gucci flavoured them. I felt this was suitable for my collaboration as Patagonia are certainly ahead with the sustainable movement, it felt reasonable to similarly collab the brands. Brands including Off-White, Louis Vuitton and Vetements are also examples of brands which I gained inspiration off. This selection mentioned are famously known for saturating their entire product with branding, this was where the final design of my product started to come together. Maintaining both brands consumer trust and interest remained prominent throughout my development, it was something I remained conscious of throughout. Although it was a challenge to design a product to two very different target markets, I am confident I met this ultimatum.

What am I taking from Christopher Raeburn?

Recycled materials were important for me to incorporate, Christopher Raeburn has been incredibly successful designing garments with recyclable materials. I would hope this success can also be achieved with my collaboration, certainly as generation alpha will favour these sustainable efforts. Alongside this, like Christopher Raeburn, I decided the logo on the collar (which I have designed) will be printed with vegetable ink, again to ensure sustainability and favour generation alpha’s interests. Finally, the product will be packaged and sent off in compostable packaging, similarly to Raeburn.

What am I taking from Patagonia?

From Patagonia I am taking their fabrication, this is because I want to ensure that the product would still be fit for purpose. After exploring Patagonia’s materials and fabrics I decided ‘Recycled Down’, ‘Recycled Nylon’ and ‘Recycled Cotton’ would be most suitable, the consumer can therefore still wear the luxurious product during the toughest environments and activities. The product needed to be suitable for all weather conditions including rain and low degree temperatures, I therefore envision the product to be available in the three materials to allow the consumer to choose the fabric which is personally suited to their needs. In my opinion, Patagonia are brand focused and many of their garments have the logo imprinted on the front or back of the item (in some cases both). For me, this was something which certainly stood out as a recognisable feature of Patagonia’s, I therefore wanted to ensure this is reflected in the final collaborative product.

Patagonia have a very distinctive and recognisable colour palette, one which resembles the sun coming over the Patagonia mountains. I wanted to ensure the collaborative product kept this in mind as I believe their choice of colour is something they are recognised and remembered for.

What am I taking from Sunspel?

It was important to me to ensure Sunspel’s luxury and smart aesthetic was still recognisable in the collaborative piece, I therefore took great inspiration from the items that Sunspel already have on the market. In complete contrast to Patagonia, Sunspel offer a neutral and minimalistic colour palette, as their choice of colour is something which they are famously known for it was vital this was represented in the collaborate piece. Minimalism is a key feature which resonates with Sunspel, therefore despite collaborating I felt this still needed to be present.