New project

When one looks for full-time employment in fashion, often times one has to do a project for prospective employer.  Here's a sneak peak at the project I'm working on now.  I'll post the finished product once I've turned it in, which is supposed to be Monday, today.  Also, here's the mood board I created for this mini-collection.

Little ones

I have what some people would call "restless design energy syndrome"...I can't just design one category over my career, I have to dabble in everything.  Here's an example of that, some graphics I did for kids line "Coral&PolyP".  So cute!

More Smartthreads, 1=1, Sneak Peak

You want to see more Smartthreads?  Alright, here it is...shhh, now don't go sharing all my great ideas!  Lol, I jest, but I serious...

Panda

I can draw non-people too.  This was for the same owner of Queenie4Ever.  She wanted another character, this time of an Asian-inspired panda.  Isn't she adorable?

Hollister Girls

This was a project I did for Hollister not long after they just started the brand (around '04).  As you know, Hollister is owned by Abercrombie and Fitch, and is the west coast, younger version of the label.  These illustrations were done in adobe illustrator.  The inspiration is "American Scrapbook, greetings from Venice, CA".  I took inspiration from Venice in the early 80s mixed with pretty vintage florals, sunwashed denim, and retro photographs like a scrapbook made in the past.

Smartthreads, 1=1 Sneak Peak

As I've mentioned in an earlier post, I work for a clothing company called Smartthreads, 1=1, a college-licensed lifestyle collection.  One-part profit, one-part donation.  Honorable cause? Yes.  Sustainable business model? Questionable.

Here's a page from one of our linesheets for 2013.  Smartthreads is going through some sales re-direction, and these styles may not be available to bookstores as previous seasons.  If all goes as planned they will be available at [big] retail chains **crosses fingers**.

We'll see.  On this page, my favorite is the fur-lined denim fleece jacket (below, left), and the "C" bear oversize crew top with embellishment (below, center).  The "C" is embellished with assorted plastic and metal hardware, reminiscent of this owl shirt by Burberry.

Fall '13 Mood Board

For those who aren't in fashion: Mood boards are what designers create through inspirational images and details that explain the story of what our next collection is based upon.

Here's the mood board we did for one of Smartthreads, Fall '13 collections.  The story is "Championship" [click image to zoom in] and follows vintage sport-inspired graphic layouts mixed with fashion-conscious details such as custom stripes and burnout houndstooth.  More images of this mood board can be found here.

Queenie

Character design is an extension of my fashion illustrations.  I really enjoy coming up with these and stylizing the characters.  This was a series of character designs I did for a client.  Her idea was to illustrate a girl named Queenie, who is the modern 50's-esque Audrey Hepburn.  She has a toy poodle and loves everything girly.  My client was very specific about the details: her tiara, her ruffled pouf dress, her rose bracelet, the bows on the poodle's ears, and their matching chokers.

College-Licensed Fall'13 Lookbook

Here's a lookbook we shot a few months back for designs I did for our college-licensed Smartthreads' Fall'13 collection.  This is the 3rd delivery we did for Smartthreads, and so far the best.  Eastbay is one of our big accounts and will be selling some of these in their catalog and online come this July.  (Photography by Freeman Mcfadden, Layout by Lynne-Anne Aleine, Styling by Susie Yang, Models: Carleigh Shae and Tyler Ritchie.)

College-licensed graphics

Designing licensed product may seem like a task of un-creativity.  With the right attitude, you will find that designing for licensing is just like designing for anything else, except with a more straight-forward marketing plan--to sell to existing fans.  Luckily, licensing means that there is already a fan base, which makes it that much more enjoyable to design.

For our newest 2013 delivery, I did these graphic mock-ups inspired by a road trip along the coast of California.  You can view the mood board I put together, posted here.

For the boys, Arizona State Sun Devils

For the girls, Iowa Hawkeyes

Textile prints

Here is a montage of some textile prints I developed for Smartthreads, F/S 2013.  The techniques we use really give these prints dimension.

88Tees

 More freelance work for Hawaiian brand 88Tees:

Surf Co. Graphics

Some graphics I did for several surf shops in Hawaii, swapping out the name for each store:

College-Licensed

Some flat sketches for college-licensed apparel for Smartthreads: