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link:
lostqueens.comPress:
Credits:
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Director:
sarah huny young
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Photographer/Videographer:
Christopher Erick
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Make-up Artist:
Natural
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Models:
Fernanda
Meron
Vee
Winnie
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Music:
"Fever" by Shalonda
Produced by Vtonthetrack
Lost Queens is a fashion jewelry brand founded by young entrepreneur Eboni Merriman in 2014. Taking it's name from the song "Lost Queen" by Pharrell Williams, the brand seeks to inspire women to reclaim their inner goddess. As an added feminist element, each piece is named after an influential Black woman, i.e. The Grace Necklace (Grace Jones), The Toni Bangle Stack (Toni Morrison), and the Serena Faux Septum Clip (Serena Williams).
In the Spring of 2015, as the brand was approaching it's first anniversary, I approached Merriman with my ideas for a complete rebranding, including a fall 2015 ad campaign that would consist of a look book and a 30 second promo video. I was impressed by the cult following Merriman had amassed, but felt that a bit of added sophistication and glamour would widen the Lost Queens demographic. I had no doubt that SCDA x Lost Queens would be a phenomenal match.
The backdrop for the look book and commercial was a suite at The Royalton Hotel in New York, NY which I scouted and secured. I chose The Royalton in part because of it's elegant, modern decour, but the main draw was the round, mirror-tiled bathtub; I knew it would be a dazzling backdrop. I tapped my go-to photographer, Christopher Erick, to shoot the photos and video. I also curated the music for the campaign--one of my favorite indie singers, Shalonda, recorded a new version of "Fever" just for Lost Queens.
The new lostqueens.com was built on the Shopify platform. Shopify's complex theming language and add-ons made possible a level of customization we just couldn't achieve with Big Cartel. The new theme is clean and easy to maneuver with a largely neutral color palette (white, light gray, and black with an accent of deep magenta) and a large emphasis on the product and model photos. The homepage and collection pages make use of the masonry grid system.
After the relaunch, Lost Queens' sales grew by over 500% and social media interaction increased by 55%. The new site has been mentioned by Buzzfeed, Coloures, Madame Noire, Blavity, Afrobella, and more.
Lost Queens; various devices
Huny was the creative director of this project and it was it was at her urging that we introduced a cohesiveness and professionalism to the site. She took my ideas and made them come to life. Real girls looking absolutely stunning and feeling themselves without the aid of anything other than themselves and their sisters was my goal and she surpassed that.
--Eboni Merriman, CEO
Lost Queens identity
Lost Queens Homepage
Lostqueens.com UI
Lostqueens.com; mailing-list prompt
Lostqueens.com; mobile
Product Shots
Typically product photos are shot on a white backdrop, but for this campaign I wanted the jewelry and the models represented in the same environment--the same "scenes" specifically. For example, if a model was, say, in the bathtub while wearing a specific piece of jewelry, we took the product shot in the bathtub as well.
Lost Queens Fall 2015 Lookbook
"Glamour" was the word of the day when we shot the look book. The Lost Queens aesthetic prior to this campaign was largely tied to nature and etherealism. However, I wanted to photograph these plus-sized, pierced, and tattooed Black women the way Bob Beerman shot Marilyn Monroe was shot for Chanel No. 5 or reminiscent of Elizabeth Taylor's famous "towel" series with Herb Ritts. I've included a snippet of the mood board I put together for the photographer, MUA, and stylist below.
Lost Queens Fall 2015 Campaign mood board
Lost Queens Fall 2015 Video Promo
Prints
Product Tags
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