Design
Ideation
"The 80s business style in a deconstructive and colorful way, made for our business women to stand out"
REWIND can be interpreted as an important rollercoaster to women's emancipation. In this regard, the past contains some important pivotal moments that repeatedly translate into fashion trends. Well-known examples are "Tightlacing" and "La Garçonne." More specifically, our interest goes to the emancipation of women in the workplace. An important movement was the corporate yuppie mentality for both men and women in the 1980s. We challenge ourselves to innovate this fashion trend in form and combine it nostalgically with the bright colors of the same time period.
Moodboard
The moodboard represents an interesting merge between two different movements in the 1980s, not only in terms of fashion but also mentality. We contrast the business-dressed workaholics with the colorfully dressed pleasure-seekers. The fusion will be designed in a deconstructive way, hence the architecture shown at the top. The color palette consists of 5 vibrant PANTONE shades.
Target group
Our target audience is purposeful career women. They spend many hours at work and want to enhance their presence through an eye-catching outfit. Because of her income and reputation, she has a high willingness to pay for 100% quality and Belgian fashion. She radiates self-confidence, is assertive but also elegant. Due to her busy job, she does not have much time to follow the trends. Therefore, she looks for timeless but striking business outfits.
Brand
Our brand DAZZLE has meaning in both word and image. Literally, it means dazzling the viewer with the bright colors used in our collection. Figuratively, it means to dazzle colleagues in the workplace as a result of stunning performance. In terms of image, both colors and positioning matter. The dual color palette of the logo will be reflected in the final result of the DAZZLE collection. The vertical mirroring of the first letter "Z" is indicative of the deconstructive design and ultimately ensures the emergence of the iconic look of the suit collar.
Design
For my designs, I experimented with the deconstruction of the male suit collar. My final chosen design includes a collar that does not extend to the back, instead it is attached by buttons at the shoulder. In contrast, the collar is lengthened at the front so that a crossing culminates in a bow at the back at waist level. It allows businesswomen to wear an imposing collar even in high temperatures. The top closes with a blind zipper in the back.
Prototype
Sample
I proudly present my final sample. The top has a professional, eye-catching look while offering comfort and lightness to wear.
Team
Our complete DAZZLE collection is presented below. While I focused on the collar as a deconstructive element, my colleagues did so for the jacket, the closure and the tie. Each sample was elaborated in a different color from our color palette, complemented by professional-looking marble brown buttons. I am proud of the final result and would like to thank the team for the pleasant cooperation.
Portfolio
Reflection
The Designers Inspiring project has allowed me to work on both my hard and soft skills. The most important growth in hard skills was graphic design. Through my responsibility for the brand identity, moodboard and final portfolio, I learned to work with Adobe Illustrator, Adobe Photoshop and Adobe InDesign. As a result, graphic design has become one of my main areas of interest. As for my soft skills, the project confirmed my ability to lead the group in a positive way, thanks to enthusiasm, creativity, planning and coordination. Moreover, due to the confidence in the team and the result, I also grew in presenting. I can conclude that the project has had a positive impact on both developing my skills, and discovering my main fields of interest.