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!