Appear Clothing
In the always changing world of fashion, consumers find themselves with two options: either buy new styles each season or keep their current clothing. Appear seeks to change all of that through the use of "up-cycling," or re-using old clothing to create new fashions.
How can we showcase the possibilities that live inside your closet?
When Appear came to me, they were called Rethread. I helped them conduct a nation-wide beta test, with 15 users from New York to California to help them better understand their core audience.
The main comment that I kept hearing was that "This brand is magical." With this in mind, the core strategy for the brand was letting this feeling of magic come through in every touchpoint.
The main comment that I kept hearing was that "This brand is magical." With this in mind, the core strategy for the brand was letting this feeling of magic come through in every touchpoint.
After 6 months of beta-testing, user interviews and strategy sessions with the key stakeholders, a refreshed brand with a new name emerged.
Hidden in Plain Sight
Every major fashion brand uses a foil so finding a foil for Appear to use was critical. I chose to use a holographic foil because it was open in the industry, it felt magical and it reflects only at certain angles. This reflection angle helped convey the feeling of things being hidden until you look at them in a new light.
Every major fashion brand uses a foil so finding a foil for Appear to use was critical. I chose to use a holographic foil because it was open in the industry, it felt magical and it reflects only at certain angles. This reflection angle helped convey the feeling of things being hidden until you look at them in a new light.
Holographic foil was applied to the "Direction Guide" that users would receive.
Even the envelope containing the Direction Guide has a bit of magic added to it.
A look at the brand's packaging and printed materials.
The packaging was kept minimal so the Direction Guide would stand out more.
A huge touchpoint for the brand was it's digital presence. I carried the look and feel to a online web store that was built to be intuitive and elegant.
The Shop page lets users select which style they want their old clothes to become.
Users can talk with Genie, a chatbot that helps them understand how Appear can transform their clothing.
A look at the ad campaign for the Appear brand.
Thank you to the entire Appear team for being open enough to take risks with the brand, Annie Spratt for the closet photography, Trevor Beaty for the model photography and to Regena Yu for the art direction.