Problem :
Launching a historical clothing line into the denim landscape

Solution :
Visually present the stories
of these special garments —
the stories that no other brand could tell.

Results :
The product team and Lee’s new creative visionary were thrilled.

Contributors :
Creative Direction & Copywriting - Megan
Design & Art Direction - Tasha
Print Buying & Production - Hilda

Lee has been in business for over a century, but few people realize it much less know how instrumental its contributions have been to the denim industry. To bring awareness to its denim pedigree, Lee selected historical pieces from their global archives and painstakingly replicated the first-edition Lee garments ever made for women. This limited, re-release was an homage to Lee’s 130-year history and the industrious spirit of women who claimed men’s workwear for their own. Their long-time friends
at Cone Denim® Mills helped to recreate the raw and washed denim fabrics — even their famous Jelt denim, originally produced for Lee by Canton Mills from 1947-1952. They fiercely worked to maintain each garment’s integrity, replicating authentic thread choices, hardware and manufacturing processes of the originals. Other than translating vintage size numbers into current day, everything was created the same.

The ask was to create an identity and assets to promote the Lee Reissue collection to high-end buyers as well as denim aficionados — to represent these rare & true recreations with the same integrity that they had when introduced nearly 70 years ago.

Vintage denim has been having a moment for quite a while. The problem is that modern brands have capitalized on the vintage look without having true denim authenticity. Brands like Madewell purchased their “history.” Lee actually lived it and has the proof. So we began by concepting a lookbook that pulled archival photos, news clippings, old ads and yellowed promotional materials to create a leave-behind for buyers that would hold the kind of editorial information worth keeping. More than a seasonal lookbook, our perfect-bound book was a walk through the

Lee museum, delivering facts, figures, stories and proprietary images that you’d find nowhere else. We concepted and executed a local photoshoot to support the Reissue launch garments, casting national models, conducting fittings, art directing props & styling, overseeing retouching. Based on a pocket flasher from 1947, we designed a series of coordinating tags to round out the flashers missing from the archives as if they had always been there.

While the data is still in progress, internally, the imagery and designed pieces have been successfully presented to premium buyers at Bergdorf’s, Bloomingdale’s and the like, as well as proudly shared with the Lee global teams. The Reissue collection is scheduled to launch at the end of 2019.