JUSTINE W. LEE // GEOFFREY BEENE NATIONAL SCHOLARSHIP $30,000 WINNER, 2014

Editor's Notes

1. To give a little background on ADD for those who aren’t very familiar, the brand is intended for …Who: Female millennials aged 22 to 30. Our core customer is a 25-year old woman named Zandra who lives in New York City and is intellectual, artistic, and fun-loving. ADD is the perfect brand for Zandra because it is inherently flexible to adapt to her dynamic lifestyle.What: ADD, which stands for American Design & Detail, is a domestically-manufactured clothing system of transformable apparel and accessories.When: Launches in September 2014Where: Online e-commerce site, dedicated application, and pop-up stores in major American Metropolitan citiesWhy: ADD's purpose is to fill the white space of convertible apparel and accessories for dressed-up casual and formal wear.HOW: To do this, the brand uses three primary technologies, which are Laser cutting, Kinetic Colorization, and 3D Printing
2. ADD drives its success with its fusion of technology and craftsmanshipADD uses Laser cutting to cut its fabric and instantaneously create finished edges, Kinetic Colorization to double-side dye its fabric, and 3D printing to create its fashion hardware and clasps.These technologies make the products possible while allowing each customer to be her own craftswoman as she clips and pieces together her outfitsThese technologies and American manufacturing benefit customers AND our company because they allow for:o   Quick turnover (also cited by interviewed designers)o   Tight inventory controlo   More tailored products to suit customer needs, creating greater product value
3. Here you can seem a sampling of our fall 2014 collectionADD’s defining characteristic is that it is a clothing system, which means that customers  buy components to CO CREATE their products. This system allows then to easily UPDATE their wardrobe, as components are compatible across product categories and with past and future merchandise.Our customers want to feel UNIQUE and INNOVATIVE, and wearing our products lets them make that experience.o   *Point to belt* for instance, You can take this product and wear it as a belt or use it as a purse strap, and then flip it over to show off the reverse colorAs you can also see here, our products are architectural, geometric and fun to wear, inspired by Geoffrey Beene’s fashion creations
4. ADD designs its products based on a philosophy we call VQV, an acronym for our three core features: versatility, quality, and value
5. Lets dive in to the first feature: versatility. In your booklet on pages 2-7 youll find a series of process photos that demonstrate the convertibility aspect of our products. 
6. This garment is called the elle. It's the first of 6 products ill be presenting today.Especially In todays culture with the massive amounts of documentation of ourselves online, no one wants to be seen wearing the same Outfit over and over again. Thus, ADD comes in, providing at least five looks per garment without a customer having to pay the price five times over. (SWITCH GARMENT) Our core customer zandra can wear THE ELLE as a shirt when shes meeting friends for coffee and then switch it into a bolero when shes grabbing drinks with coworkers.
7. This dress, called the zandra, shows how garments and accessories are convertible because they can be clipped in various ways using 3D printed clasps, chains, and other fashion hardwareThe brands signature grommet makes this possible. It is highly functional and also acts as a nice accent
8. Here, we have the ALAIIA.all of our Garments are reversible because they are double side dyed and have instantly finished edges created by laser cutting
9. In addition to our versatile garments, we also provide multi wear bags. This bag is called the AYA
10. This purse, called the Darcy, is especially versatile with its voluminous shape and contrasting fabric
11. THE LEDA BAG, seen here, is great for color mixing with its kinetic colorized fabric and is also easy to manufacture with its clean, flat design
12. Here you can see some of the other products we'll offer as part of the Fall 2014 collection. The possibilities for multi-wear transformable apparel and bags are endless, and they’re great because they can transition from season to season with their varied colors and versatility
13. The second core feature of VQV is product quality.All fabric we use is made of recycled polyester, which cuts great with a laser cutter and makes for really rich colored fabricdyes are long lasting, bleach/wrinkle resistant, moisture-wicking, and colorfastADD uses strong materials and construction, much like the durability of the classic American dungaree
14. The last of VQV is value.The combination of versatility and quality makes for a strong value proposition that our customer will keep coming back for.Products are made to function because of their transformable design, but also made to last because of their materials and construction
15. we sell through 3 channels: online e-commerce site, dedicated app, and pop-up storesHere you'll find a screenshot of our website, where a viewer can shop using three primary options: BROWSE, MATCH, and EXPLORE[BE EXCITED]BROWSEo   view products organized by category (apparel, bags, jewelry)MATCHo   A costumer can select current or previous merchandise and find a list of all compatible ADD products in each product categoryEXPLOREo   A customer can see the ADD team’s selection of how to mix, match, and transform current merchandise
16. ADD makes sure to maintain a strong omni-channel presence to suit its target customer’s technology heavy lifestyle. All products are synced on all of ADD’s platforms, giving each shopper a seamless experience across all channels.
17. These products were all tested at Cornell with a group of five 20-22 year old female millennials who expressed interest in art, design, and/or fashionFeedback (positive and negative) improvementsIn December, I had a focus group that consisted of 5 millennial customers and had each of them experience the product. Don’t mention they were friends/the modelsAll 5 said this would be something they’d buyAll of the focus group members agreed that this would be a prod they’d buySay how someone said prices were v reasonable for what they were