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© 2016 Chin I Lee All rights reserved. No part of this publication can be reproduced without express permission from Chin I Lee A Graduate Graphic Design Thesis Written and designed by Chin I Lee Association Academy of Art University 79 New Montgomery Street, San Francisco, CA Department Chair / M ary Scott Graduate Director / Phil Hamlett 800.544.2787 Contact Chin I Lee 415.640.5685 chininicklee@gmail.com chinilee.com Typeface FF Kievit Photo Credits Getty Images, Shutterstock, Taylor Stitch Text Stock 100# Mohawk Superfine Uncoated (148 GSM) Printer & Bindery Blurb Software Adobe Creative Cloud Find out more about Biascut at Biascut.org View more work by Chin I Lee at chinilee.com Printed and bound in the USA
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chapter 00 / page 09
Foreword chapter 01 / the issue / page 12
Background chapter 02 / the early stage / page 22
Research
chapter 03 / the middle stage / page 54
Process
chapter 04 / the final execution / page 68
Design Solutions
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Buy less, choose well, make it last.
— Vivienne Westwood / Fashion Designer
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Foreword In my university life, I was very interested in fashion. I always like to see people wear appropriate and good quality material because I often see people purchase cheaper clothing from fast fashion companies. It’s literally going to fall apart after a few months and the production of this clothing created huge pollution in the past few years. However, I would like to provide people with an alternative way to shop for locally made clothing, which provides quality over quantity and community friendly. During my research, I found sustainable fashion should be the solution to determine problems. The sustainability is related to our environment, social impact and even carbon footprint. If people can get into and learn more information, people can make better decisions and improve long lives and healthy communities for the future. I have been studying graphic design for four years. I recognize graphic design can be powerful and highly influence the different formats and languages. I would like to use my design abilities, skills, and knowledge to build a comprehensive system for my target audiences to choose a better garment.
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What is Biascut ? Biascut is a new fashion retailing concept for locally-sewn clothing. In the fashion industry, the ordinary meaning of the term “bias” is the direction of the fabric weave. Another meaning of the word “bias” is to present a different perspective for or against something. At Biascut, we are biased for locally-sewn clothing and against the recent trend of “fast fashion.” Fast fashion giants like H&M, Zara, and Forever 21 produce huge amounts of low-priced clothing for people on a budget. Since prices are so low, people purchase more items, sacrificing quality for quantity. Many people do not understand the results of buying lots of cheap clothing, which contributes to destroying our environment, such as air pollution, energy waste, and textile waste. There are different locally-sewn clothing stores in San Francisco, which are scattered in different areas. Biascut will collect them into our brand, people can have more options to choose locally-sewn clothing in one place.
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The Problems  Fast fashion giants like H&M, Zara, and Forever 21 produce huge amounts of low-priced clothing for people on a budget. Since prices are so low, people purchase more items, sacrificing quality for quantity. Many people do not understand the results of buying lots of cheap clothing, which contributes to destroying our environment. Air pollution: The production of fast fashion clothing creates huge amounts of carbon emissions. Energy waste: The transporting of fast fashion, using trucks, ship, and planes, contributes to the pollution problem by using lots of energy and emitting carbon pollution. Textile waste: According to the Council for Textile Recycling, the U.S generated an average of 14.3 billion tons of textiles in 2012, and 85 percent goes to landfill.
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Locally-Sewn Retailers Amour Vert
DSF Clothing
437 Hayes Street, San Francisco, CA 94102
520 Haight Street, San Francisco, CA 94117
855.326.6233
415.252.8601
amourvert.com
shopdsf.com
Benny Gold
Eileen West
3169 16th Street, San Francisco, CA 94103
2222 Palou Avenue, San Francisco, CA 94124
415.814.3940
415.957.9378
bennygold.com
eileenwest.com
Betabrand
Faze
780 Valencia Street, San Francisco, CA 94110
3236 21st Street, San Francisco, CA 94110
415.692.7433
415.695.2915
betabrand.com
fazeapparel.com
Beneduci Shoemakers
FTC
797 San Jose Avenue, San Francisco, CA 94110
1632 Haight Street, San Francisco, CA 94117
415.577.2786
415.626.0663
beneduci.com
ftcsf.com
Blue Canoe
Golden Bear Sportswear
1900 Oakdale Avenue, San Francisco, CA 94124
200 Potrero Avenue, San Francisco, CA 94103
415.648.5000
415.863.6171
bluecanoe.com
goldenbearsportswear.com
Curator
Gravel & Gold
1767 Church Street, San Francisco, CA 94131
3266 21st Street, San Francisco, CA 94110
415.970.9828
415.552.0112
curatorsf.com
gravelandgold.com
Cut Loose
Harputs Own
1218 Valencia Street, San Francisco, CA 94110
109 Geary Street, 2nd Floor, San Francisco, CA 94108
415.282.0695
415.392.2222
cutloose.com
harputs.com
Diana Slavin
Headline Shirts
3 Claude Lane, San Francisco, CA 94108
335 A 8th Street, San Francisco, CA 94103
415.677.9939
415.692.6770
dianaslavin.com
headlineshirts.net
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Iron & Resin
Nooworks
7 Columbus Avenue, San Francisco CA 94111
395 Valencia Street, San Francisco, CA 94103
415.624.3288
415.829.7623
ironandresin.com
nooworks.com
Jake Clothing
NSEWest Co.
1687 Market Street, 2nd Floor , San Francisco, CA 94103
691 O'Farrell Street Apt. 402, San Francisco, CA 94109
415.527.7611
519.652.7490
jake.clothing
nsewestco.com
Kajan Cake
NV Blue
50 O'Farrell Street, 7th Floor, San Francisco, CA 94102
246 4th Avenue, San Francisco, CA 94118
415.251.7270
917.592.1147
kajancake.com
nvbluesf.com
Kindly Souls
Ocelot
1125 Alabama Street, San Francisco, CA 94110
1027 Treat Avenue, San Francisco, CA 94110
415.825.0662
415.821.7288
kindlysouls.com
ocelotclothing.com
Les Mechantes
Piece x Piece
900 North Point Street , San Francisco, CA 94109
2325 3rd Street, San Francisco, CA 94107
415.275.0407
415.685.5789
lesmechantes.com
pxp-sf.com
Lily Samii
San Franpsycho
210 Post Street, Suite 803 , San Francisco, CA 94108
505 Divisadero Street, San Francisco, CA 94117
415.445.9505
415.829.7874
lilysamii.com
sanfranpsycho.com
Maker & Mineral
Taylor Stitch
1226 Haight Street, San Francisco, CA 94117
383 Valencia Street, San Francisco, CA 94103
415.794.7711
415.621.2231
makerandmineral.com
taylorstitch.com
Marine Layer
Weston
2209 Chestnut Street, San Francisco, CA 94123
569 Valencia Street, San Francisco, CA 94110
415.346.2400
415.621.1480
marinelayer.com
westonsf.com
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Interview I interviewed different people from different cultural backgrounds. Most of people gave me valuable feedback and suggestions to improve this project. I selected a few participants, who inspired me the most, from these interviews. While I was collecting data from these interviews, I felt most people don't understand the true cost of fast fashion; they have a hard time finding locally-sewn clothing, and they would like to see locally-sewn clothing. Eventually, I narrowed down all the comments and came out with some interesting design directions I want to approach.
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Leyia Lin Fashion Designer Have you heard of the term “fast fashion” before? Yes, I have heard about it. Actually, I think it would be a considerable discussion in the fashion industry. How do you describe fast fashion? Recently, fashion editors have questioned the speed of the industry. The phrase “fast fashion” refers to low-cost clothing collections that mimic current luxury fashion trends. Designs move from catwalk quickly to capture current fashion trends. Fast fashion helps sate deeply held desires among young consumers in the industrialized world for luxury fashion, even as it embodies unsustainability. Trends run their course with lightning speed, with today’s latest styles swiftly trumping yesterday’s, which have already been consigned to the trash bin. Recently, fashion editors have questioned the speed of the industry. As a designer, thinking about how to recycle the landfill of the garments is a very important issue. Do you know the true cost of fast fashion? Zara, H&M, and Forever 21 are fast fashion brands. The price for fast fashion, usually, is like those and with the “copy design” from the luxury brand, so everybody won’t stop shopping at these stores.
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Rahman Shemonti Textile designer Do you think fast fashion is good or bad? Fast fashion is bad. Fast fashion is not real fashion for me. Fashion should be an attitude, the way people use elements to present their thinking and opinions to the world. As people’s personality, fashion is built with the experience of life. It needs time. Fast fashion is just a way businessmen get money from customers. Do you know the true cost of fast fashion? Yes, to get a fat profit, fast fashion uses forced labor and uses poor quality materials to produce cheap products. Also, the style of fast fashion is highly similar with those brands with high prices and quality. The system of fast fashion is not only hurting a lot of labors’ right, but also stealing other designers’ ideas. Do you have suggestions for choosing better-quality garments? My suggestion for people is to keep a sentence, “You are what you wear”, in mind when choosing garments. We can say how a person’s personality is by the garments he/she chooses. Everyone in the world should want to be a better person and reduce fast fashion. The better-quality garments are not only making you nice looking, but are good for your health if there are no bad chemical mediators in your garments.
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Jordan Philka Illustrator How do you describe your shopping experience? Personally, I don’t have a big budget, so the first priority for me to buy clothing will be the price. The second thing, I would consider the style and this is actually very important, because I care about the look more than the quality. For myself, I like fast fashion, because it is not very expensive, and I could always afford a new one. I have several stores in mind that I’m kind of loyal to, with good quality clothes from my past experience. It has to feel comfortable when I wear it. I don’t care if it is made of high-end material. Does the experience help you? I usually like to look around in stores without assistance, as I enjoy the process of discovery. I care about the style more than the quality, but it doesn’t mean the experience doesn’t give me any help to choose better quality garments. It gives me some help, but not that much. How do you define better-quality garments? The clothing that can be defined as good quality is if it’s comfortable when you put it on, and it shouldn’t make you feel itchy and uncomfortable. As a normal person, I don’t know too much about the material. I can recognize if it is good quality clothing when I touch it. Good clothing, which is made of high-end materials, feels very different and most of people can recognize it.
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Catherine Rice Visual Designer Are you interested in local fashion designers who make eco-friendly clothing? Yes, I am. I have been seeing videos, reports, and documentary resources that indicate how fast fashion has changed how people buy clothes or abandon their clothes only wearing them one or two times and how it’s caused clothing pollution. I am not saying we should ban fast fashion, but I want to be an eco-friendly person. Do you have a hard time finding locally-sewn clothing? Yes, I feel it’s difficult to approach. Obviously, it’s harder than fast fashion. I wish I could just walk on the street with locally sewn clothing stores. They should be more supported. It would be great if they had their own “Yelp”. They should be more promoted. Is there anything you want to know more about locallysewn fashion? Clothing resume. Where are they from / How are they made / What can I do after I can’t wear it anymore / Where will they go… etc.
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Farida Mokhtar Fashion Designer Do you think fast fashion is good or bad? Fast fashion is bad, because fast fashion makes our environment become worse, and it influences people to follow the current and does not have its own style of garment. Otherwise, people will not treasure their clothes when fast fashion shows up with the new apparel. Do you know the true cost of fast fashion? the price should be lower than the garments, which we buy because it is a kind of business marketing. But, I guess the material levels of fast fashion are not advanced, like cotton and nylon. Do you have suggestions for choosing better-quality garments ? It is smart to choose better-quality garments, and we can wear the garment more than one time; also, we can choose the clothes that are easy to pair up with our other clothes. Most fast fashion clothes will be cheaper and easy to fade, so it is better to choose the better-quality garments.
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The difference between style and fashion is quality. — Giorgio Armani / Fashion Designer
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The Insights  1. There are many eco-friendly clothing stores in San Francisco, and they have been producing good quality, ecofriendly, and less-toxic clothing for a while. Plus, they pay attention to the environmental impact and help people connect with each other and the community. 2. These shops are scattered in different areas. Biascut will collect many eco-friendly clothing brands into our boutique store, so people can have more options to choose locally sewn clothing in one place.
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Target Audience 1. People who live in San Francisco. 2. Females aged around 25–35 with enough income to purchase better-quality garments and are environmentally conscious shoppers. 3. Local designers who are make eco-friendly clothing and need to promote their eco-friendly clothing on the market.
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MoodBoard
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MoodBoard
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Photo Style
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c
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bias|cut s SF
Biascut LOCALLY-SEWN FASHION
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The Anatomy  Biascut is a technique used by designers for cutting clothing to utilize the greater stretch in the bias or diagonal direction of the fabric. The foundation of the signature mark is using the 74-degree line to deliver the concept. The logotype is based on Hoefler Text and FF Kievit, which convey feelings of organic, casual, and clean for this brand.
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Typographic Standards As the Biascut brand has evolved, there are several reasons why I've chosen FF Kievit, ITC Conduit for our typeface. The reason it was chosen is because of the humanistic characteristics for this contemporary design. It is ideally suited for all our needs. They all serve different purposes. FF Kievit is used for titles, subtitles, body text and captions. ITC Conduit is used for big numbers. It helps us to communicate in an eco-friendly voice.
Aa FF Kievit_ Title, Subtitle, Body Text, Captions & Quotes ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUV W X YZ abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz 1234567890
Aa ITC Conduit_ Big Number ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRS TU V W X Y Z abcdefghijklmnopqrstuv w xyz 1234567890
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Color Palette Consistent color usage ensures maximum brand recognition. The corporate colors of Biascut are wood brown, ivory brown and forest green; they are the foundation of the brand and should always be used properly to reinforce brand equity.
CMYK 50/40/60/45 RGB 89/90/75 HEX #585A4A PANTONE 449U
CMYK 3/2/9/3 RGB 235/234/223 HEX #EBEADE PANTONE 9101C
CMYK 77/12/98/5 RGB 99/154/98 HEX #649A4E PANTONE 376U
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Mobile App  When consumers want to shop at a local, eco-friendly clothing brand, they can use their smartphone to browse immediately. The app has special functions to guide people to find local clothing. The unique selling point of this app, which lists local designers, is it shows people what kind of style they will have when they choose locally made clothing.
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Biascut Boutique Store By collecting many eco-friendly clothing brands into our store, people can have more options to choose locally sewn clothing in one place.
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Packaging Creating reusable packaging. After customers receive clothing in the box, they can use it for a storage container or they can return to Biascut boutique store to be recycled.
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Reward Card To encourage people to shop for locally made fashion, a rewards card will allow customers to earn points toward a small gift from Biascut boutique store.
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 Gift / Sewing Kits To encourage people to shop for locally made fashion, a rewards card will allow customers to earn points toward a small gift from Biascut, which is sewing kits. People can use it to fix their clothing. After people earn the 10 point reward stamps. Biascut will provide the customer with a small gift of a sewing kit. People can use it to fix their clothing.
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Delivery Service To create a new eco-friendly delivery and sustainability service, no pollution will be created, no environmental toxins expelled. We provide a new delivery system for using bicycle delivery, electric cars, and self-pickup to reduce air pollution and energy waste.
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Acknowledgments Thank you mom and dad for your unconditional support and for always believing in me and listening to my problems. Without you two, I would not have come this far. Everything that I have achieved in my life is because of you. Thank you Mary Scott, Phil Hamlett, Ariel Grey, Carolina de Bartolo, Hunter Wimmer, Anthony Jagoda, Brian Toth and all of my other Academy of Art University instructors for your mentorship, professional guidance and sharing your invaluable knowledge with me. Thank you to my fellow Academy classmates for staying creative and inspiring me. I have learned a lot from you guys. Thank you, Hsuan Jung Hung, and all of the amazing people in my life. Even if I did not mention your name, you know who you are.