Kelly MacDowell
Trunk Club Custom: Directing menswear shoots in cities across America
CREATIVE DIRECTION
ON-LOCATION
EDITORIAL CONTENT
DIGITAL
Trunk Club Custom was a subdivision of Trunk Club’s personal styling service through which clients could commission anything from sportswear to tuxedos at any of the seven brick-and-mortar locations across the U.S.
When I became creative lead for this extremely nuanced part of the business, I pushed to take the shoots out of the studio and feature these seven cities, underscoring the personal, handmade nature of the offering.
Seasonal lookbooks = year-round planning
I worked side-by-side with the Director of Custom throughout the year to develop two lookbooks per year, coinciding with the fashion seasons of spring/summer and fall/winter. As she chose fabrics and started designing each season’s collection, I began pre-production. From location scouting to selecting models and developing the lookbook’s story and aesthetic, I supported every step of the creative process.
In these selections from a 52-page Fall/Winter lookbook shot in Boston, MA, we tell the story of sprezzatura, the Italian philosophy of effortlessness that became a guiding principle for Boston jazz critic and Esquire contributor George Frazier.
Lookbooks were broken down into scannable “chapters” that told the story of the season.
This first chapter tells the story of one suit worn three ways. Three-piece suits could be a tough sell for the custom specialists, so we strategically featured this garment to drive interest with clients.
Sartorial inspirations became a blueprint for designing the actual lookbooks.
The mid-century, Steve McQueen aesthetic of these looks was mirrored throughout the entire lookbook—clean layouts, typewriter fonts, and a rich, warm color palette.
We also used the pages to tell the story of how and where these garments were made.
From flat-lays of our tailors’ tools to B-roll of our workrooms and host cities, our lookbooks leaned into the romance of custom suiting and the occasions for which you wear it.
This content was endlessly repurposed for organic social, paid media, OOH, and print ads in publications such as Esquire.
With budgets well into the six figures, I made sure these shoots generated stories and images for use across our media mix.
I led the direction of four lookbooks during my tenure at Trunk Club. Reach out if you’d like to see more of this work.
Kelly MacDowell
Trunk Club Custom: Directing menswear shoots in cities across America
CREATIVE DIRECTION
ON-LOCATION
EDITORIAL CONTENT
DIGITAL
Trunk Club Custom was a subdivision of Trunk Club’s personal styling service through which clients could commission anything from sportswear to tuxedos at any of the seven brick-and-mortar locations across the U.S. When I became creative lead for this extremely nuanced part of the business, I pushed to take the shoots out of the studio and feature these seven cities, underscoring the personal, handmade nature of the offering.
Seasonal lookbooks = year-round planning
I worked side-by-side with the Director of Custom throughout the year to develop two lookbooks per year, coinciding with the fashion seasons of spring/summer and fall/winter. As she chose fabrics and started designing each season’s collection, I began pre-production. From location scouting to selecting models and developing the lookbook’s story and aesthetic, I supported every step of the creative process.
In these selections from a 52-page Fall/Winter lookbook shot in Boston, MA, we tell the story of sprezzatura, the Italian philosophy of effortlessness that became a guiding principle for Boston jazz critic and Esquire contributor George Frazier.
Lookbooks were broken down into scannable “chapters” that told the story of the season.
This first chapter tells the story of one suit worn three ways. Three-piece suits could be a tough sell for the custom specialists, so we strategically featured this garment to drive interest with clients.
Sartorial inspirations became a blueprint for designing the actual lookbooks.
The mid-century, Steve McQueen aesthetic of these looks was mirrored throughout the entire lookbook—clean layouts, typewriter fonts, and a rich, warm color palette.
We also used the pages to tell the story of how and where these garments were made.
From flat-lays of our tailors’ tools to B-roll of our workrooms and host cities, our lookbooks leaned into the romance of custom suiting and the occasions for which you wear it.
This content was endlessly repurposed for organic social, paid media, OOH, and print ads in publications such as Esquire.
With budgets well into the six figures, I made sure these shoots generated stories and images for use across our media mix.
I led the direction of four lookbooks during my tenure at Trunk Club. Reach out if you’d like to see more of this work.