Originals XBYO
XBYO (‘X’ By Originals) is a prime example of my favorite kind of project. I initially started working on this concept a few seasons prior to its launch as a pet project, looking to tailor an ergonomic fit for a premium feeling fleece or French Terry collection. Having drafted the initial ideas, considered the branding and found an exceptional Japanese pattern maker, my designers took the project and continued to develop it for 5 seasons. I love simple design that lasts, collaboration and watching my initial ideas flourish in new design hands.
The XBYO patterns were patented and together with our Japanese fabric developers we engineered a baked polyester/cotton French Terry fabric to maximize it’s stand and give the garments a sculptural quality on the hangers and an exaggerated sense of fit on the body. Attention to modern silhouette in combination with a strong new branding was key to the success of the range.
The Iconic ‘X’ branding was lifted from the first Adidas running spikes, modernized and always branded on the back of the garments to pay homage to the original reference point.
Kaval (Built For Purpose)
Kaval was developed in 2016 with a desire to address the workwear market and aesthetic within the streetwear scene. I suggested we celebrate the quality of the manufacturing process and the factories we worked with to maintain our credibility and authenticity in this area. We educated the consumer with product knowledge and graphics were inspired by manufacturing processes and trademark branding. Below are initial concept sketches I made at the outset and further product shots from various seasons.
With Denim playing such a strong role in the workwear aesthetic, we developed indigo Nylon and French Terry to achieve the look with authentic sportswear fabrics, as well as producing actual denim pieces.
The rest of the collection was based around key streetwear and sportswear staples with graphic messaging that hinted at the garment manufacturing process.
Originals X Pharrell Williams
When Pharrell Williams signed with Adidas oil 2014 it opened up a number of design opportunities internally to work on product in collaboration with him. This is a brief look at the work I did as part of some of those collaborations.
The Pink Beach Collection…
The Polka Dot pack…
The Jacquard Pack…
Originals X World Cup
This was the Originals X World Cup Collections I worked on for the 2018 competition. This collection was conceptually very simple: bring back one to one retro federation football jerseys from key moments in history. The hard part was then to accurately identify the fabrics silhouettes, details, artworks, care labels, number fonts and executions from the Adidas archive and re create them as close as possible. It was not as easy as you might think…but I think the results were worth it. We also decided to add a few ‘Home and Away’ mash up jerseys…we tried multiple options and final settled on designs from our team in Portland.
Dream Phase
At the start of 2016, I met with the Creative Director of Adidas Originals and we discussed the idea to set up a new creation process. From there I set up a process whereby the men’s, women’s apparel and accessories teams could start to work outside of the the regular calendar to pursue design ideas that had no business brief. The ‘hands on’ design process, under my facilitation, grew in stature over the preceding years and was written into the calendar and called the ‘Dream Phase’. Many creative projects that started life in the Dream Phase went on to be produced and many more are ongoing. I firmly believe the freedom to create outside of set timelines can create impactful outcomes and authentic stories. The photos below document the growth of the Dream Phase process and one personal project of mine.
DISRUPTION / SOLUTION / DESIGN 