Catalog/Web/Hangtags
Winter 2009
3,848 Words
The success of the first Foursquare book led to more work the following season to reignite the voice of Special Blend. With a first-chair-to-last-call focus, I built the creative director's vision into a brand voice with attitude, knowledge and charge for catalog and web copy. The strongest execution was the rider technology–including naming, cheat sheets and detailed descriptions of all product features.
Link to Tech Page PDF
Special Blend has been known for cutting-edge fabrics since the company brought street denim to the scene. This season, the record of creating forward-looking fabrics keeps getting longer with everything from the smoking-lounge feel of the Plaids to three fashionable tints of snow denim. Individual Blend style is again defined by everything from texture, prints and color blocks to original patterns like the Prep Plaid and Gnargyle. This stacked fabric lineup makes sure that no brand can copy the Blend style until next season.
RIDE AND RELAX, BRO
Riding with a powder skirt on an overhead day is mandatory, but having one ride up on the barstool feels a bit gripping. Ride/relax unsnaps at the side to ease up during lunch breaks or morning dumps.
TUCK AND ROLL TAB
Dragging drawers on the asphalt is a sure way to shred them on the way to the tailgate party. This manual system keeps hems lifted so they stay out of the parking lot muck and mud.
TUCK AND ROLL VISOR
When the sky goes from grey to blue, roll the visor back and lock it down with this snap-down system. No more rocking a low brim at an awkward time like a food court gangster.
POP AND LOCK HEM ADJUSTER
Like hydraulics for your pants, get five inches of lift when you engage the switch in your pocket to lock in the high clearance needed for rallying through Lot B.
EASE OUT VENTING
Blow off steam—and excess sweat—when things heat up by zipping open pit, hem or inseam vents. Used in most Blend styles, they keep things chill when hiking hits or milking slush.
FRESH SNAP KIT
Interchangeable snaps add the pop and crackle to keep your look fresh even when other kids’ kits are starting to look stale. Rotate through all four options from first chair to closing day.
SAGPROOF GAITER
It’s a fine line between stylish sag and a wet ass. Instead of feeling embarrassing dampness from running ‘em too low, this gaiter pulls up from the pant to stop fresh snow from falling inside.
SAFETY CLIP
Keep that goggle cloth handy when vision is cloudy and you need something to help lift the fog. The alligator clip also serves a secondary purpose for puffy meetings in the trees.
FIRST CHAIR LAST CALL POCKET
Whether in the lot or on the chair, its always good to have a cold can in reserve. This stealth sleeve keeps a PBR, High Life or contraband Sparks strapped down and hidden from view.
STEALTH WRIST GAITERS
Lycra wrist gaiters keep out the elements but fold back so you don’t to look like a wayward knight from the renaissance fair.
ROLL TAPE
Dank and damp do not make snowboarding fun. So, every piece in the Special Blend line is fully seam taped to prevent leakage and stop seepage.
SAG LEASH
No one wants to see an unsightly backside and no rider wants snow in the crack. So to stop the half moon from rising, Blend’s jacket-to-pant link keeps it together with this Velcro® claw.
BLENDTECH DWR
This tech treatment keeps liquids from rain and sleet to coffee and beer from soaking the surface. A lasting invisible shield, this DWR sheds stains or spills to keep fabrics looking like new longer.
GORE-TEX® 2-L AYER GORE-TEX PRO SHELL
Wearing Gore-Tex® means staying dry in puking conditions. But most Gore jackets look like they just escaped from Everest base camp. At Blend, we took Gore’s newest top-shelf waterproof/breathable fabric and mixed in trademark paparazzi flash for snowboard shells that are always dry but never bland.
GORE-TEX® Z LINER
Gore-Tex® shells always lacked texture until the Z liner, which gives fashionable fabrics like the Special Blend Gentlemen’s Plaid the backing of Gore-Tex® Performance Shell. This hanging liner provides hightech waterproof/breathable function, yet still allows shreds to rock a more current surface style.
DOBBY NYLON
A premium dobby fabric that moves freely but survives wear and blends on-hill skill with the red-carpet treatment. The surface, which has the coated hand of a luxury fabric, is matched with fur interiors and slick patterns, such as Prep Plaid and Buffalo Print, for a fashion and function combo that always rolls with style.
RESERVE TWEED
The timeless feel of highbrow tweed returns for both sexes in the 2010 Special Blend winter collection. Available for either gentlemen or ladies, this rugged tweed supplies plenty of class in fashionable circles without sacrificing its standing at the highest levels of waterproof/breathable protection.
CROSSHATCH DENIM
This textured crosshatch fabric in the premium designer styles brings downtown character to a mountain setting.
DARKNESS AND LIGHT DENIM
Blend knows how to tailor denim, and this season the designers have taken this fabric medium one step further by offering a men’s dark denim and women’s specific denim.
BABY HERRINGBONE
Subtle texture gives this free-flexing fabric more specialty appeal than standard nylon cloth. Paired with Special Blend signatures such as asphalt blackout, this textured waterproof/breathable offers a mix with more purchase than slick and slippery shell fabric.
COATED MINI TWILL
Prints, blocks and patterns are all possible when paired with the blank canvas of this waterproof/ breathable fabric. Add in icon prints, angled color blocks and urbanized denims, and this textural twill becomes a regular point of cultural reference for styling it out with modern fashion.
