Enough with all the suspense. The May catalog drops today, so check yer mailboxes, or check it out online.
A little about this month's book...
Our May 08 catalog was based on a "by the seashore" concept... We'd been hitting up a lot of beautiful sandy beaches lately, so we wanted to explore something a little different.
Our senior stylist pointed us to the rocky beaches of central/northern California, especially the Big Sur area.
Anyone I've ever talked to about Big Sur has said nothing short of amazingly beautiful things about the place...so we packed up and headed west.
Unfortunately, the weather wasn't very cooperative - it was quite cold and rainy a lot of the time.
And to boot, our brunette model got sick during the first day of shooting, so we brought in a 2nd girl at the last minute.
But it was great using 2 different faces...
We took a 12-passenger van out on 17-mile drive, starting off each morning near our hotel in Monterey and then driving through pebble beach (we ate lunch each day at a deli in the middle of the golf course), then onto Big Sur.
Spent a lot of time looking over cliffs at what we thought were sea lions, only to realize quite late in the game that they were really giant pieces of seaweed.
We were a little bummed...
This was our first all-girl outing, by the way...photographer, assistants, stylists, etc. very exciting!!!
Almost the moment I posted pictures of the Big Sur catalog shoot for you all
to look at, I was informed that the catalog video had been put up on the
Free People Youtube! So I wanted to be sure and post it for you to see!
You can also find it (and all our other videos) here.
This catalog drops next week and we are all so excited! Enjoy!
Free People's new catalog will be dropping next week!
It was shot in the stunningly gorgeous Big Sur region of California,
and one of our stylists was kind enough to share a few pictures
from the shoot! Please enjoy!
Our April catalog drops today! Here's a little about the shoot from our creative director...
Our April book was based on a trend called “Mayan”, taking typical print/color palettes of that culture and translating them into modern silhouettes.
We’ve had great success working in Mexico in the past (January 08 book), so we decided to head back. This time, our production scout, Dominique took the team to Tulum...about an hour’s drive or so from Merida, where we’ve done most of our shooting up until this point. Tulum was gorgeous...white sand, green-blue ocean, teeming with lots of nomadic, free-spirited folks (including the guy on pg 6 and 13).
Most of our beach shots were taken there; the rest were taken on the road, driving to and from that location.
Very spontaneous shoot...and one of our favorites so far.
P.S. The headdress on the front cover was actually purchased in the Houston, TX airport. Winds forced our plane down, and the team wasn’t able to make its connecting flight to Merida...so we hung out for a long time, waiting for our luggage, and found this. Not Mayan, necessarily, but made for an awesome prop. :)
The March catalog is here! The book was shot in India in Rajasthan Desert's Neemrana Fort Palace. The palace is a hotel that many of the Free People designers have stayed in when traveling in India. Built since 1464 AD, Neemrana Fort Palace is among India's oldest heritage resorts.
The two trend concepts in this collection are Peace Corp Prep and Everything but a Flower. Peace Corp Prep is a mixture of traditional preppy styling mixed with Indian prints and colors, lots of plaids mixed up with Indian florals. Everything but a Flower is print driven, inspired by all things geometric, both vintage and modern.
On the back of our last catalog, we challenged you to recycle the paper in a creative way.
We received the most amazing note via email. One customer took our challenge and used the pages of our catalog to create this awesome jewelry. We are so impressed and surprised at how she re-purposed the book. Great job Ashley!!! You can buy these pieces and more at Ashley's etsy store or befriend her on myspace!
Did anyone else see that challenge on the catalog? Anybody else do something creative?? Leave your email in a comment!
Above are some "behind the scenes" photos from our photo shoot in India, featuring some of the people our team met along the way...
And here's a little message and info about our featured model, Yulia.
"Say hi to all the Free People big kiss. i'm 19 years old, Born in St Petersburg, Russia but moved to London when i was 6 years old and have lived there ever since. i have been modeling for 3 years, full time for 2.
i love working with Free People because, I get to travel to amazing locations with wonderful people. We recently traveled to India to shoot a catalogue. It was beautiful, unlike any other place i've ever been. I love wearing the clothes and accessories, they are really fun, very comfortable and wearable in day to day life, there are pieces for every occasion. I always say that I wish their entire collection was my wardrobe. There is always a great atmosphere on set and we have a lot of fun working together. I always look forward to working with and spending time with the whole Free People crew its really a lot like hanging out with friends. big kiss yulia xx"
Check out the February catalog featuring Yulia here.
The February catalog drops today! The book was shot in Jaipur, India. Our theme for this collection is "I Want Candy" translating into yummy, sugary, candy colors and embellishments of plastic stones and gems.
We were inspired by this Japanese travel book following one single girl's experience. You'll notice we only used one model for this book. Her name is Yulia. Stay tuned for an interview with Yulia and some behind the scenes photos...
Natalie commented on the January catalog post asking what the deal is with the We the Free product featured in the new book. We the Free knit line is an eclectic collection of tops, t-shirts, and heavy weight styles that features relaxed fits, superior fabric quality and washes, and thoughtful artwork. We the Free offers a rare combination of the newest print techniques pared with both classic and edgy graphics, applique, hand embroidery, and rugged trimmings. We hope this collection will charm you with its special details and unique sensibility.
Basically, this is a new line of high end knits with amazing fabrics, art, dye and print techniques. The aesthetic is a little bit more tough and boy inspired. So what do you think???
Our January catalog drops today! The collection was inspired by Spain and we shot it in Mexico. It was shot in 2 locations near merida, mexico...
The first was a restaurant owned by a lebanese man who’s lived in and ran
the same restaurant for over 40 years...the second was a hacienda refurbished by our production scout and her husband, which is out in the countryside...complete with horses, dogs, chickens, baby boars (and an unexpected tarantula)!
Check it out online and watch the behind the scenes video... The music is a song called "Rector Street" by Levy.
Our new December catalog is inspired by Hawaii's tropical vibes, exotic flowers, and aloha spirit. We loved hibiscus flowers and floral prints in all different sizes and colors. We also added touches of sporty elements like stripes to add contrast to the floral prints. Punchy colors like oranges and ocean blues are splashed throughout the line. Silhouettes are casual, light, and airy. The Hawaii collection is all about easy dressing. Whether you are packing it in a suitcase to travel or just going out with friends, pieces are easy and comfortable to wear.
Our team shot the catalog in Florida (no they didn't get to go to Hawaii), lucking out with beautiful sunrises and gentle surf...
The art for our November catalog is mostly inspired by the same fabrics and trims that were inspiration for the clothing. The creative team used the fabrics as a starting point and painted them in watercolors and ink. Once they started painting, they developed a looser approach to the representation, and resulted in the beautiful backgrounds you see throughout the catalog.
The November catalog is here, so check those mailboxes. You can view it online and be sure to check out the "behind the scenes" video from our trip to India.
Our assistant creative director wrote a little about the inspiration our designers found in Tibet and their experience with the catalog...
"After our designers' visit to tibet last year, they returned with stories of how warm and accepting the people were...doub and maryellen were even taken into a shop and dressed to the nines in native garb as a crowd of onlookers watched. We wanted to share with our fp community the impact this culture had on those 2 designers. Their dress code may not be intentional, but we found it so beautiful and in its genuinity, we hoped to express those sincerest of ideals in our book. And therefore travelled to a tibetan village in india, and while there, we met and made many friends who were just willing to share their lives and experiences with us for a few days.
There's probably more I could and should convey, but it was so truly magical for myself and our team. Funnily enough, I was reading through the journal I kept there, and came across the story of the family who made us butter tea for the first time..."Experiences like this make my life worthwhile, and restore validity in humanity."
See a few more photos we took on location below...
Our November catalog drops this week! Our inspiration was based on Tibet. Our crew travelled to northern India in the Himalayas of Leh-Ladakh (sometimes called "little Tibet") for this book. It was quite an experience for our team. The altitude was one thing they had to get used to, at one point being 18,000 feet above sea level. They found they had to move really slowly, which is difficult on a photo shoot, especially when some of the best shots usually come spur of the moment or at the last minute.
They found the people of the town to be extremely hospitable and welcoming. One family even made the girls cups of yak butter tea. yum. These photos are some the "behind the scenes" shots. Enjoy!
The catalog is dropped and should be in your mailbox! Here's a little more info about the two trend concepts going on for September...
DARK FAIRY
Nature's beauty, mystery, magic, and mystical elements are the
inspiration behind dark fairy. Deep, dark forests and whimsical fairy
creatures are manifested into a print driven line that explores nature's
dark side while still allowing the light to shine through. Colors are
deeper and darker with bright accents. Embellishments like sparkles and
glitter intensify the dark color palette and add unexpected detail.
SPORT
Inspired by retro athletic apparel and accessories, the sport collection
mixes elements of masculine design with girly accents. Mixing classic
ski and sport fashions with crafty elements create a look that is truly
hand touched by fp. Graphic prints, stripes, and color blocks are seen
throughout the entire collection setting the trend. A mix of black, red,
kelly blue, and green compose the color palette.
It's about time to get a new craft swap going. What do you say about going with the theme of Dark Fairy. We could expand upon the idea to to reach into fairy tales and gothic stories... Any thoughts? I'll update you soon on how to sign up for the swap and more details!
Here's a little intro to our new September catalog dropping on Monday!
The two trend concepts for the collection were Dark Fairy and Sport. I'll tell you a little more about each trend next week. We were really inspired by this photography book called "A Fairy's Child" by Ann Dahlgren and Douglas Foulke. We loved the book so much, we contacted Douglas and asked if he would be interested in shooting our catalog! He agreed and he and his wife shot our catalog at their home in Connecticut. (The photos above are from his portfolio on his website...)
As far as art direction, the creative team was really into old books, bindings, bookplates... One of our creative assistants did the fairy painting above on the pages of an old book, and then painted lines over the text too. Below are just some other old books we looked at for ideas.
So we received this anonymous comment on one of the August catalog postings...
"I think you guys should do a write up in the blog on how to tie scarves! There are so many new beautiful scarves in stock now and there put on the models in such a neat way, I would love to know how its done."
What a great idea! Some girls from our creative team made this little video for you, with one of our web stylists showin how it's done. Enjoy!
We got a comment asking for more of the watercolors from the catalog. Most of them have been chopped up at this point, but here is one more that is still in tact. Enjoy!
On it's way to you, our August catalog! The inspiration for this collection is a mix of art nouveau, mod and glam. Kind of dark, decorative and beautiful... Our catalog team was in London a few months ago, on their way out to shoot the Grunge Princess July catalog at Vintage Vacations. While in London, they met up with some friends at a restaurant. The atmosphere was so amazing there and they decided it was perfect for their next shoot! They also scouted some other locations, a private home and a beautiful park.
Here I've posted a couple of books the creative team referenced for inspiration to do the graphics and illustrations. They were looking at a lot of art nouveau artwork and ornament.
And here is one of the original watercolors painted by one of our creative assistants. Amazing, right? Check out the catalog online, and check your mailboxes!
Want s'more behind the scenes info on our new catalog? Well, I've told you that the trend concept is Grunge Princess. This idea is how the inspiration for the artwork came about. All of the little drawings and color swatches are done in crayon and colored pencil. They are slightly juvenile looking to me, the way I might have doodled in my notebook the first time grunge was cool. Very Sassy magazine like. And the swatches of color also relate to the idea of patchwork and afghans. Then there are all the scrolling designs and flowers, to meet up with the "princess" part of the trend.
Our photo team took a bunch of cool photos with a Holga camera just for fun. The photos turned out really cool and we ended up using them to border a lot of the pages. These are all the negatives and the images with the blurred edges you see along the sides and in the backgrounds throughout the catalog.
The July catalog is coming! We called the trend concept "grunge princess" The video is already up on our site, so check it out. Our assistant creative director wrote this little note for you, to tell you all about the shoot...
ironically enough, it was a posting that our fpgirl put on the blog that led us to vintage vacations. (remember??)
that’s the name of the “camp” on the isle of wight – just off the coast of southern england – where we shot our grunge princess catalog...
helen, the woman who runs vintage vacations along with her husband, bought an airstream trailer from ebay and had it shipped to her.
and then vintage vacations was born.
situated on a plot of farmland (owned by farmer ted, I think) on the isle, the property now hosts 5 trailers which folks can rent out for friends/families/photo shoots.
we spent a lot of time photographing on vintage vacations’ property, in and around the airstreams which helen kitsched up herself with help from local flea markets/shops.
she and her uncle drove us out all around the island, too...full of hills of sheep, endless fields of flowers, beautiful rocky cliffs.
it’s an amazing place, for sure.
and no day was complete without helen’s tea and scones with clotted cream (absolutely delicious).
Check out our new May catalog!!! Keeping along with our travel theme, this trend concept is inspired by Asia. Here's a little blurb written by our assistant creative director describing some of the process for this shoot...
our asia collection was inspired by quintessential asian-themed prints and colors...pattern and color everywhere...
we decided that, after returning from puerto rico for the africa book, we wanted to keep this shoot more local...(and besides, didn’t have a budget to travel to asia
to document...well...asia). so, we gathered up inspiration pix and, with the help of our creative assistant, learned how to make huge tiled backdrops from them...
which you’ll see we’ve been utilizing for a lot of our recent web shoots.
gathered these backdrops up, and headed to our wholesale showroom in ny, where the shoot was based. ransacked chinatown for lots of additional props – fake flowers, kites, lanterns, fans...
and spent a lot of time rigging them up with fishing line and binder clips!
we also threw in a new concept – karaoke - which is why you’ll see song lyrics (penned by our communications coordinator) and microphones popping up on a few pages of this book. the models sang along to our ipods while we were shooting those images...
for the shot of the chinese dragon, the team packed up and headed to a karate studio (located above our photographers’ studio) in the lower east side of the city.
The above photos are of the book our creative assistant put together for inspiration for the shoot. She gathered all kinds of images, photos, fabrics, yarns, and then layered on her own drawings and notes to start to piece together ideas for the finished catalog.
Got a comment from Paige asking about this little girl in our latest catalog. And Danie asked about the location. So here goes...
The catalog team shot the book in Puerto Rico. They travelled all along the north east coast, visiting San Juan, Ceiba, and El Yunque rainforest. They were driving through a beach town, saw the rooster mural on the side of a building and thought it would be a cool place to shoot. This little girl kept riding her bike by and watching the models. The FP girls asked her to be in the photo but the girl was super shy. Eventually she warmed up to them and decided to be in the photo if she could hold the model's hand.
I promised to share a couple of books that were really inspiring to the creative team while working on April's catalog. The first is called "Zara's Tales" , a memoir about Peter Beard's adventures in Africa and dedicated to his daughter, Zara. Beard's beautiful photography and drawings are scattered throughout.
The second is called "The Jouney is the Destination: The Journals of Dan Eldon". Dan was an accomplished photo journalist by the age of 22 and was also a fantastic artist, combining collage techniques with his amazing photographs. This book was compiled from several scrap books he kept and his family assembled after his tragic death at 22, when Dan Eldon was working in extremely dangerous conditions in Mogadishu. A truly inspiring man of passion and talent. I recommend you check out this website "An Electronic Revolution" inspired by his life and work.
Our newest catalog should be on its way! Continuing with our theme of travel, the latest is inspired by Africa.
Our graphic designer took the oppurtunity to really run with the theme and did a ridiculous amount of artwork to collage into the catalog. Above photos show the pile of original works of painting and markmaking.
She also hand cut linoleum blocks to get the stamping technique seen in some of the titles. This book proved to be a truly hands on project. Stay tuned for more Africa "behind the scenes" and check out the catalog here...
We would like to introduce you to the talented photography team that has recently been working with us on both our website and catalogs. They call themselves Cracker Farm and they are super fun to work with! We asked them to tell us their five most favorite things, and this is what they had to say...
1-Daz, their poor doggie that is no longer with them.
Wanted to show you a little "behind the scenes" on the photography process from our India shoot. A bunch of the photos were actually taken with a Polaroid camera. The film had this really cool black black border with punctured holes. Stay tuned for more info on the photography, as I will introduce you to our photographers!
In preparation for our March catalog, the creative team gathered tons of images for inpiration from India. The book drops this week, so check your mailboxes and stay tuned to the web for the digital version. Check out the "behind the scenes" video!
Our inspiration for our early spring collection is called Landed Gentry. The designers were looking at a lot of dandy menswear and liked mixing it with super romantic femininity. The amazing illustration above was done by one of our designers.
Check your mailboxes! The newest catalog has dropped and should be getting to you any day now. See it on our website here and check out all the new product on the site.
The creative team played off of the romance of the collection and started gathering all sort of romantic ephemera, like old books and sheet music. The book above was inscribed "from Alfred to Kate" and they went with that theme, changing the theme to "from Kate to Alfred".
The creative team found an old feather quill pen in Valley Forge, Pennsylvania and brought it back for our graphic designer to play with. Here she is practicing her lettering. She ended up mastering the quill as you can witness in beautiful lettering in the Landed Gentry catalog. The pen itself even inspired the cover...
This is Bruce. Bruce wasn't getting enough exercise in his South Philly apartment, so he came to run around the Free People building.
So in the name of the new year, we'd like to share some of what's to come in 07. First of all, our website is in the process of being totally redesigned. A major visual overhaul will coexist with better navigation, better search tools, improved product images and an easier checkout process. Yay!
Another exciting thing to look forward to is our catalogs. We plan on doing some experimenting and maybe even producing more books than just once a season. So if you're not on the catalog list yet, now is the time!
And hopefully we can make some improvements to the blog, but we need your help! Leave us a comment and let us know what you'd like to see! What are you curious about, what can we do more of??
So Bruce learned a lesson. If you wander to the back corner, home of the creative team, you could emerge covered in bows and feathers...
This post is in response to a few comments posted about the holiday catalog... We got an overwhelming response to our first holiday catalog. Way better than we had expected. Unfortunately, the second catalog (Holiday in Bali) was planned and shot at the same time as the first, and featured some of the same products. We had no way to edit the second catalog once items unexpectedly sold out.
Please forgive us! We are really excited we received such a great response, and will definitely be able to learn from this for future catalogs. If there is an item you just can't live without, you can contact our call center @ 800-309-1500. They may be able to locate the item in one of our store locations.
Our newest holiday catalog is out now! Keep a look out in your mailbox. Or check it out on our website. The inspiration for the latest collection was Bali, especially the textiles. We shot the catalog in Hobe Sound, Florida. Seeing these clothes and the location really makes me dream of taking a trip!
Our holiday catalog was shot in Alaska amidst glaciers, reindeer, and sleigh dogs. The above photo was shot at the Matanuska glacier.
The girls had to park the van and hike about a mile to the Matanuska glacier because it was impossible to drive through the icy ground. They had to carry EVERYTHING with them that mile including all the outfits, photo equipment, and hair & makeup supplies.
Part of the shoot was done on a glacier called Punch Bowl. They were staying in a town about 1 hour southeast of Anchorage and had to take a helicopter up to the glacier location. Suprisingly, this was not the first helicopter ride for either of the girls from the Free People team. Our art director had been on one for a prior job, and her partner in crime had been on one at a car show at the age of four...
For more "behind the scenes" click here to see a video from the holiday shoot.
