Aleister Kelman: Intimate Apparel

• I will be designing, from scratch, the look and feel of a lingerie designer including identity, photography, look book and online interface

• Working closely with my client I am looking to create a new graphic that is mindful of obvious points of reference such as Agent Provocateur and avoids stereotypes, in terms of male gaze, domination et al.

• In terms of the intimate apparel market my client stands at the high/luxury end owing to the bespoke, limited edition nature of her work (and this exclusive hand made aspect in turn informs the price accordingly)

• To sum up the rationale behind her spring/summer 07 range, it is very much rich tones on tones, hourglass silhouettes emphasizing bust/hips, and absolute comfort for the wearer.

• Throughout I will be working and coordinating with photographers, venues, make-up artists, hair stylists and models as well as communicating with marketing and press professionals.
  

Portugal Place

Another location... definitely on for this one as it is public space and our only obstacle will be residents peering through their curtains.

Maison Bertaux

Not the best view from this night shot, but the window of Maison Bertaux would make a very cool setting.

Pretty enthused by the idea of a white piano. Players has one of these in their lounge.

Some venue ideas

This is the Phoenix Cinema is East Finchley... it is apparently oldest purpose build cinema in England and it is art deco galore. Currently in the process of contacting them... they charge a pretty hefty fee for photography shoots but I am hoping to arrange something with them.

Freya website looking really good... a touch too pink and fluffy, but I think the right kind of spirit is happening there.

The breif

Over the last week I've been working on turning the brief in to something with tangible outcomes. The major challenge, that both Geoff and my client (Susannah Katz) have identified, is the built-in Agent Provocateur flaw. There is also another subtlety we've looked at that is the idea of the woman feeling great in herself for having a Susannah Katz garment... so great it doesn't matter if anyone knows if she is wearing one or not. This is quite a discreet theme and it needs to be met in the graphic. I think I described it poorly with my La Senza analogy on Thursday, but hopefully it is clear now.

Next thing is what Susannah actually needs. This is:

1. Brand
At present no branding exists and up to this point the lingerie has run on it's own steam - word of mouth, showing samples to boutiques. This means I will be looking at logo, colour, typeface and overall identity.

2. Look-book
Not a catalogue as such, but more a portfolio whose function will be to get the garments in to boutiques. A buyer should look through this book and end up with no doubt in their mind that they want to stock Susannah. This means high class production values. I've had some samples from printers already as this will be the biggest strain on the budget and needs to be planned well.

3. Website
Needs to match the look-book in terms of quality and luxury feel but will be aimed more toward customers than suppliers. One end of the business is bespoke garments so for example we're thinking about the facility for a user to enter in their measurements and get pricing etc. Not an online shop but a gateway for customers to see the ranges, fall in love with them and get in touch.

4. Extras
Business cards and tags/labels will go toward informing the entire package.

5. Content
The juiciest part of the project is the fact that the content needs to be created, so I will be art directing the photo shoots and assisting with the copy. We've gone some way toward breaking the photography down in to logistics:

• Photographers: we have four photographers on standby who have agreed to shoot with us (one of which is our own Valentine).
• Models: this is crucial. With the Agent Provocateur flaw in mind, and the aims of Susannah to cater for all shapes, we require various body types: large and voluptuous, petite and straight, athletic and broad, pear shaped and short. So far we've filled two of these criteria. The models are having expenses paid and they keep the garments, which will be tailored specifically for them, at the end of the project. Any girls on GD Com want to apply?
• Our overall motive is: fun, happy, lively, confident girls looking great and smiling like they mean it. No moody, dark, voyeuristic or wistful stuff.
• Venues: two types of photo shoot firstly in the Chelsea studios, clean, elegant shots that show the product in a functional sense, and secondly, on location where the emphasis is on mood and feel. We're currently working on venues to approach, but nothing solid to say as of yet.
• Press: some kind of press toward the end of the project would be great. I know a PR agent who handles companies like Jas M. B, Missoni, Dinny Hall etc and I'm hoping he will do us a favour and get Susannah in to an issue of Harpers or similar.

Thats it for now, sorry for the massive post. I would be extremely grateful for any useful leads or people to contact!

The concept

The idea is to shape the image of a luxury lingerie designer from concept to completion. This is a live client and her work is sophisticated and chic. She is also open to big creative ideas. Our discussions so far have been about a new kind of graphic that appeals to fore mostly to women, with emphasis on femininity as opposed to what men would like to see. The project would seek to avoid skinny model stereotypes and give Agent Provocatuer, fantastic as it is, a fairly wide berth.

Essentially the project is art direction; rather than getting completely tied to logo/corporate or web etc, though these will certainly factor eventually, I'm looking at making sure the overall styling is perfect. For example one avenue would be the design and coordination of photo shoots with lighting, location, models and make-up artists etc - making the project a big speak for my communication/logistical/real world skills as well as my visual and conceptual ability, which would manifest in the resultant graphic products.

I've had some success working on overtly commercial projects and whilst I personally don't want to be on the designing pub signs vibe, this kind of high end fashion graphic allows me to have some of that functionality that I enjoy whilst also working cheeky, flamboyant ideas into the subtext. At one point I thought: quartet of outrageous girls at Brighter II, modeling corsets and luring industry bods toward my project (at the tempting risk of our show becoming a Las Vegas style cabaret, albeit).