It was about four and a half months ago when we first sat down to plan our massive Fall Fashion Preview. An ambitious idea emerged from that first meeting: an original collection of high-end decorated apparel that captured the trendiest streetwear looks, worn by models posing in a completely different way against a life-sized industrial background.
Great – we had an idea. Now how in the heck were we going to pull it off?

We did, with a lot of hard work.

So how did it all come together? It started with an original vision from our stylist Conrad Booker, a Philadelphia-based apparel and accessories designer. In our initial meeting, we focused on the current streetwear trend. It made perfect sense for our industry, because it takes decorated basics – T-shirts, caps, tanks, sweatshirts and much more – and arranges them in a fashionably edgy palette that can be worn by a wide group of people. Booker refined that idea with the notion of “W By Wearables,” a sly play on the branding employed by top designers, such as the Marc by Marc Jacobs line

In concept sketches, he planted our new branded look in everything from beanies to compression sleeves. We then approached top decorators in the industry and asked them to create these new decorated looks, all in the name of art and fashion. To their credit, they were very game. In one example, Mirror Image Inc. brought one of our signature looks to life – giant, shiny gold Band-Aids that formed the letter “W.”

That was only half the battle. We planned for a larger-than-life background that completely encapsulated our models. It had to look compelling. It had to look real. To accomplish that, we had dozens of conversations with Roland (asi/18201), which manufactures large-format printers and cutters. Using their high-end SOLJET Pro 4 printer, the company printed a background of stunning quality that measured 16 feet wide by 12 feet high.

The details after that were minor – our photographer Mark Pricskett figuring out to how to rig the camera to the ceiling, and our models Charissa and Reece contorting their bodies beyond normal limits to create our surreal poses. (You know, the normal stuff.) You can see how we made it happen with our behind-the-scenes video and photo gallery at www.wearablesmag.com.
I think our Fall Fashion Preview serves as a visual reminder of the dramatic capabilities of apparel decoration. We know that much of your business falls back on those customary corporate logos, but we want to offer inspiration for you to take creative chances when you can.

In addition, we spill the secrets on how our custom garments were decorated. How exactly do you make giant gold Band-Aids? We explore that and much more. We think the results are incredible, and you can see for yourself starting on page 38.

Our Fall Fashion Preview was a hefty project.The lesson we learned can be applied to our readers: Don’t hesitate to think big. You just have to figure out how to print it.
Thanks for reading,