Lost Queens Fall Campaign

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.