3.1 Phillip Lim is a global luxury fashion brand based out of New York City. Since its inception, it has prioritized diversity and bringing awareness to social issues through its collections, collaborations, and media activities. However, many of these activities are disjointed.
How might we create a space for 3.1 Phillip Lim to celebrate and expand these efforts?
Digital and physical brand experiences don't align.
Fashion no longer refers to just clothing. Individual projects carry strong brand value and deserve recognition.
Consolidate all brand endeavors under one single lifestyle program.
Since its inception, the company has promised products and experiences that support versatility, authenticity, and aspiration. Some examples of how they've done that include the following:
No industry was left untouched by the effects of COVID-19. The fashion industry was hit hard, with small, mid-tier brands like 3.1 Phillip Lim needing to streamline efforts between their physical and digital properties.
As an individual, Phillip encompasses so many different worlds, from architecture to cooking. He's practically a brand unto himself. How might we incorporate Phillip's personal passions into our core identity to create a more authentic brand experience?
A four-channel branded program designed to foster the interaction between fashion, arts, and culture.
The concept of the 3.1 Salon is built off of the tradition of historical fashion salons that emerged during the golden age of fashion, helmed by magnates like Christian Dior and Coco Chanel — gatherings that united intellectual, artistic, and political contemporaries.
current offerings
3.1 Tribe: highlights individuals critical to the 3.1 creative process
challenges
Lack of consistent promotion, easy to miss announcements
new solution
3.1 Society: rebranded official ambassador program
current offerings
Studio Day: a public collection viewing at NYC flagship, opportunity to meet 3.1 team
challenges
No consistent schedule, ad-hoc, freeform
new solution
3.1 Salon Events: limited discussion sessions led by 3.1 Society members
current offerings
31philliplim.com: official website
challenges
Hard to read, low contrast, difficult to navigate, hidden information
new solution
3.1 Salon nav tab: dedicated sub-tab encompassing all lifestyle related activities outside of commerce
current offerings
Vimeo: video page to showcase collections (no YouTube)
challenges
Low viewership, low engagement
new solution
Localization: targeted programming for individual stores
YouTube page: expanding virtual presence
The 3.1 Society is a coalition of 3.1 Phillip Lim's closest partners, collaborators, and friends. They form the collective of people who inspire us as creators and the work we produce.
society (n.): the aggregate of people who are fashionable, wealthy, and influential, regarded as forming a distinct group in a community
Get to know each member of the 3.1 Society through their official website biography.
Discover 3.1 Society members featured in official collection lookbooks and product shoots while you shop. Shop their look while you shop yours.
The first element of retail strategy is the physical arm of the 3.1 Salon. Through 3.1 Salon, we can transform our current stores into multi-purpose studio spaces to host masterclasses, discussions, and workshops in collaboration with 3.1 Society members. These events would be first-come, first-serve with limited capacity to encourage safety and an intimate setting.
While many of the 3.1 Phillip Lim stores are still closed, the brand has since let go of their dedicated office building and moved all core operations to the NYC flagship. Keeping costs down and efficiency up is the most important thing to consider when it comes to utilizing space, so I created a diagram showcasing how 3.1 Salon events could also operate within the NYC flagship.
At the end of every event, each participant will receive a code in their email inbox that will give them exclusive previews and discounts on the collection that they can redeem at the official website.
I created a dedicated space for the 3.1 Salon within the 31philliplim.com infrastructure. As a dedicated main tab in the menu navigation, the 3.1 Salon tab now becomes the home for any non-clothing/non-commerce related activity for the brand.
The 3.1 Salon digital space contains five sub-tabs: latest news, 3.1 Society roster, upcoming events, side projects, and a lifestyle blog. Details are listed below.
💡 Click here to view full pages and annotations.
view allMeet each member of the 3.1 Society. Read their bios, view upcoming collaborations or events, and even view and shop their favorite items from the 3.1 collections.
See upcoming events happening for 3.1 Salon in your preferred store location. Search for events by location, topic, and name. RSVP online and view details about the featured guest/3.1 Society member.
View all projects and collaborations from the beginning of 3.1 Phillip Lim to present day.
A place to discover everything from local art, interior design, music playlists, collection throwbacks, to recipes from Phillip's official cookbook.
I kept the existing typeface, Avenir Next, but introduced more weights and sizes to create contrast.
Because each store caters to a unique and local demographic, the Salon events would also be localized per store. For example, the LA store events might focus topics around diversity in fashion and entertainment in Hollywood, bringing in Society members based in LA or existing partners such as Gold House and CAPE. This would also encourage each store to truly work on engaging with the local demographic as well as their neighbors to support local and small business.
Not every 3.1 Phillip Lim fan is based in a large city with a physical store. In addition to the owned channels through the stores and through 3.1 Phillip Lim.com, I created concepts for creating an official YouTube channel to host public 3.1 Salon content along with the rest of the brand's marketing. Currently 3.1 Phillip Lim only has a Vimeo page with little to no engagement.
That is the biggest lesson I learned from diving into this brand and into this project. As an Asian-American, it is reassuring and motivating to see leaders like Phillip Lim unashamedly take charge of his industry and his craft. It gives me courage to perfect my own craft with the same diligence and find opportunity to use my skills for good.
