Casual-luxury Apparel with Sustainable Integrity
Handed
GMI USA Corp
ROLE
TEAM
CLIENT
Lead UX Designer, Product Manager
GMI USA Corp Leadership
9 months
TIMELINE
OBJECTIVE
GMI USA Corp, a leading licensee for premier retailers, sought to develop a sustainable luxury lifestyle brand.
Under the guidance of GMI USA Corp Leadership, we developed physical product concepts for "Handed," while I created a companion app focused on transparent material sourcing and ethical manufacturing. My process included competitive analysis, consumer surveys, and UX ideation sessions to build a data-driven foundation for the brand's potential digital presence and market strategy.
PROBLEM STATEMENT
How might we create a mens luxury sustainable fashion platform while giving consumers a sense of trust with regard to our claims?
PROBLEM DEFINITION
Beyond Greenwashing:
Authenticity in Luxury Sustainable Menswear
This project began with the challenge of addressing the widespread prevalence of greenwashing and vague sustainability claims in the market. We identified an opportunity to create a brand that authentically bridges sustainability and luxury, redefining how true environmental integrity is communicated.
Guided by our current supply chain and distribution model, we focused on men’s apparel as a starting point, designing a platform that seamlessly integrates transparency, elevated design, and sustainability.
COMPETITIVE ANALYSIS
Comparing UX, Aesthetics, and
Sustainability Messaging
CASUAL-LUXURY BRANDS
I conducted a competitive analysis of Fear of God and Eleventy, two casual-luxury brands known for their distinctive basic apparel categories.
These brands exemplified our target aesthetic from both a product and UI standpoint and served as effective benchmarks for analyzing price positioning.
SUSTAINABLE BRANDS
Turning to sustainable competitors in the fashion industry, while sustainability communication is often lacking, two brands - Asket and Pact - stand out with their comprehensive sustainability platforms.
These brands were valuable benchmarks in our study of transparency practices within the industry.
Casual Luxury: UI Aesthetic
Fear of God and Eleventy's digital platforms are minimal and uncluttered, speaking to a sophisticated clientele.
We aimed to capture a similar aesthetic by focusing on:
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Small, clean fonts
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Ample white space
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Clean photography
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Minimal information on front product pages
Sustainability: UI Presentation
Minimalism vs. Information Density: Luxury brands typically use negative space and sparse layouts to convey exclusivity, while sustainability reporting requires displaying complex information and detailed metrics.
ASKET uses bar graphs to show a comprehensive breakdown of cost, traceability and impact (carbon footprint):
Pact gives a breakdown of materials and certifications with links to external sites to back up it’s claims.
SURVEYS AND INTERVIEWS
Consumer Perceptions of Luxury and Sustainability: Interview Findings
Our final interview pool were individuals highly interested in sustainability, luxury or both (those with mid-level interest in both areas where not chosen).
We conducted all interviews remotely and the main findings were:
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A lot of ambiguity and confusion around how brands explain sustainability.
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A feeling that luxury is an experience and storytelling is extremely important to the at experience.
PERSONAS
The Casual Luxury Seeker vs.
The Conscious Consumer
MARKET POSITIONING
Sustainable & Accessible Luxury Positioning
We focused Handed's market positioning on two key elements: sustainability credentials equal to or exceeding established sustainable fashion brands, and luxury pricing positioned slightly below competitors like Eleventy and Fear of God.
This strategic placement in the lower luxury segment allowed the brand to effectively compete while maintaining strong sustainability credentials.
STRATEGY
Clear messaging to meet
consumer goals
Our strategy focused on demonstrating transparency in sustainability while delivering exceptional experiences and craftsmanship typical of luxury products to our customers.
Sustainability
CLARIFICATION
How might we gauge our sustainability in comparison to other brands?
Sustainability
TRANSPARENCY
How might we demonstrate our sustainability commitment?
Luxury
EXPERIENTIAL
How might we provide compelling experiences to our customers?
Luxury is often described as an experience—While the in-store consumer can be pampered and enjoy the atmosphere, the online experience is captured in services—video or in person appointments, personalization through initialing or packaging, made-to-measure, complimentary delivery and/or returns.
Luxury
CRAFTSMANSHIP
How might we convey impeccable craftsmanship?
Priorities and Features:
Strategic Steps to Fashion Sustainability
Creating a sustainable fashion brand requires strategic planning and patience. A prioritized roadmap ensured we could implement meaningful practices immediately while systematically expanding our impact over time.
While my ultimate vision included comprehensive impact tracking and supply chain transparency through the app, we started with core features and planned to systematically expand functionality.
DEVELOPMENT
Digital wireframes and garment sketches: Two disciplines, same foundation: blueprints for design
WIREFRAMES
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I wanted to maintain the expected luxury aesthetic with ample white space and carefully curated product presentation
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I integrated sustainability metrics through elements that linked to detailed information
SCREEN: HOME
Full width images for impact and sustainability taglines
SCREEN: SHOP ALL
Full-width hero image, followed by minimalist product details and pricing for a clean, spacious layout.
SCREEN: STYLE
Sustainability metrics displayed with bar graphs
SCREEN: FABRIC
Fabric detail pages where users can see info including origin, manufacture; TRIM and GARMENT pages would follow this format.
GARMENT SKETCHES
Line drawings for minimalist designs with unexpected touches. We aimed to deliver understated luxury to users who appreciate both elegance and environmental consciousness
BRAND VISUAL
Building an Authentic
Brand Identity
BRAND PERSONALITY
Handed is a men's casual-luxury sustainable brand for those seeking responsible and fully transparent apparel options that can be dressed up or down for home or office. Personality is sophisticated yet accessible, high quality and with fine detailing.
BRAND ATTRIBUTES
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Elevated
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Clear
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Sophisticated
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Accessible
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Serene
IMAGERY INSPIRATION
The visual identity of Handed pairs sophisticated architectural lines with organic forms, creating serene elegance. A refined palette of warm creams, subtle greys, and rich blacks provides a grounding foundation.
COLOR
Jacron tag
(made from cellulose)
resembles leather
Bamboo Hangtags with sustainable ink
TYPOGRAPHY
Inria Serif Bold
Aa
Aa
Inria Serif Regular
Aa
Inria Sans Regular
HEADING 1
Inria Serif Regular - 24pt
HEADING 2
Inria Serif Regular - 20pt
BODY 1
Inria Sans Regular - 16pt
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TITLE 1
Inria Serif Bold - 18pt
Inria Serif Bold - 16pt
TITLE 3
Inria Serif Bold - 14pt
BODY 2
Inria Sans Regular - 14pt
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PRODUCT
Materializing Ideas: Final Designs
HIGH FIDELITY MOCKUPS
Minimal home page prioritizes user education on sustainable fashion while maintaining premium aesthetics
Design emphasizes transparency through material traceability bars, fabric specifications, and care information. Each product component highlights its eco-friendly attributes with links to learn more in terms of traceability
Transparency-focused layout helps users understand the sustainable and ethical journey of their garments from fiber to finished product."
design mirrors the fabric transparency pattern while focusing on smaller, crucial garment elements.
STYLE COLOR UPS AND SAMPLES
The iterative development of the apparel from final sketches to initial garments parallels the refinement process seen in high-fidelity mockups.
CONCLUSION
Lessons from a Casual-Luxury Sustainable Line Journey
While launching a sustainable fashion line presented challenges, particularly around costs and infrastructure, this project provided invaluable lessons for future endeavors.
The experience underscored the importance of managing timelines and structuring product development to account for supplier relationships, certifications, and compliance requirements. These insights now serve as a foundation for refining processes and preparing for future opportunities to bring sustainable luxury solutions to market.
Success factors:
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Successfully identified initial line with GOTS-certified materials and SA8000 factory certifications
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Established transparent supply chain mapping
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Identified certification processes for key sustainability metrics
Challenges:
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Carbon footprint measurement proved more complex than anticipated due to data gaps in supply chain
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Full environmental impact calculations needed additional infrastructure and supplier cooperation
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