COOLMAX® PREMIUM BRANDED FABRIC

Denim Project aimed to move away from stiff and rugged jeans and towards flexible and comfortable jeans. However, we did not want to deviate from the style and fit of classic denim jeans. Working with an overseas manufacturer, we constructed our product with premium branded fabric, COOLMAX® by The LYCRA Company.

“Engineered for year-round comfort and performance, denim made with COOLMAX® technology can be used to create easy-care jeans, jackets, and shirts that transport moisture away from the body to keep the wearer cool and dry.”
- The LYCRA Company

The defining feature for this product is in the innovative fabric. With this fabric, we designed a slim-tapered fit jean with a regular rise and two color washes, light-wash and dark-wash.

Read more on COOLMAX® by The LYCRA Company here.

EXPERIENCE + EFFICIENCY

The success of Indigo Project encouraged my team and I to launch our second project, Denim Project. With some experience under our belt, we now knew how to launch projects alike with greater efficiency. Knowing which tasks were important to spend time on was a key factor in being able to complete this project within the year. Time-sinks such as requesting individual samples during the production stage were made more efficient by requesting multiple samples with varying changes to be shipped at once. Time consuming content production became a simple task by focusing on two categories of content: 1) Product Photography 2) Promotional Photography. Previously, digital content was produced without a schedule at random periods throughout the project. Our experience with other tasks such as setting up the website, product design, marketing, handling orders, copy-writing, and customer service made this project run more smoothly.

This project was built and operated in a similar manner to our previous project as we incorporated many of the same principles to our product and strategy. Due to experience, we were more effective in implementation and execution in this project.

HIGH QUALITY PRODUCT DESIGN

To achieve our desired premium design, product development involved several iterations, revisions, and samples to be shipped over from our overseas manufacturer. Surveying peers and target audience members along with analyzing fashion trends of our targeted niche (urban street-wear & athleisure) allowed us to create premium product that holds demand.

PREMIUM MEDIA CONTENT

It came without saying that our premium product required premium content to deliver a congruent message. To do this, we drew inspiration from other brands and content similar to what we envisioned (Nike, COS, Hypebeast, Oak + Fort, ZARA, etc.). With this inspiration in mind, we created our own original content to be used in online advertising, website design, and social media.

CUSTOMER AFFORDABILITY

With many high-end urban street-wear brands charging a premium price, we wanted to deliver a product of comparable or greater quality at the accessible price of $30. We kept affordability in mind at all stages of this project and cut costs in areas outside of product quality in order to maintain high product value. Although each of us specialized in certain roles, our team of four often found ourselves working in all areas of the project, from meeting customers and handling customer service to setting up a photo shoot and designing website components. Keeping all tasks within the original team allowed us to save costs associated with outsourcing work to outside skilled personnel.

RESOURCEFUL MARKETING SOLUTIONS

The primary factor in maintaining an affordable price was our low-cost marketing strategies. With little to no room for marketing costs, we had to be resourceful in building awareness and driving sales. Thus, our primary marketing strategy was focused around Facebook marketplace groups such as ‘Vancouver Streetwear Community’. Pushing out content for our project in such groups did not cost us anything and garnered substantial interest within minutes of launching. This was followed by orders within the first day and selling out within the first week. The success of this strategy lies in knowing the interests and behaviors of our audience accompanied with delivering great value and accessibility. In this case, many individuals interested in urban street-wear fashion in the Greater Vancouver area turn to communities on social media to share their passion with others. Our project provided a product with high value at a low cost in a community that passionate individuals frequented. We saw this as a great opportunity for our project as we incorporated many elements from street-wear fashion across our design language and marketing content.