Exploiting the Archive (Including Case Studies)
Case Study: Men-only Floral Print
Company:
John Lewis Partnership
Sector:
Retail
Impact:
Innovation; Brand knowledge and
marketing
“Vintage may be an over-used word in fashion, but this is the genuine article” Sub-editor of The Gazette, John Lewis in-house magazine 2009
“This is just one of the images designers are using as a starting point from which to create their designs for the future” Alan Cook, Cummersdale Textile Archive 2008
Project brief:
To create a ‘hot product’ for the 2009 season’s
men’s fashion collection by drawing inspiration from vintage
designs and patterns in the John Lewis textile archive.
Sponsor:
Andrew Lambert, JLP designer
Timescale:
12 months from concept to launch
Business archives used by project team:
- Textile print, dated 25th January 1943, from the Cummersdale textile archive (part of John Lewis corporate archive)
Outcomes and business benefit:
- Created a limited edition premium product, retailing at £40 per shirt, for the men’s fashion market
- Product swing ticket explains the story behind the pattern, demonstrating to customers the product’s vintage authenticity
- Story of the product development used in internal sales team literature as part of marketing plan
- Cost of product development minimised by using in-house inspiration from the 25,000-strong textile archive
- The pattern has further commercial application as the inner trimmings of trousers and the inners of shoes
- There is a good opportunity to quickly develop a product range in response to favourable customer sales