Social Storytellers is a blog hosted by AboutFace Media focused on storytelling, independent film, social media, video sharing, documentaries, culture, marketing and more. To learn about our company go to AboutFaceMedia.com.
Kmart Fashion continues with a dynamic social storytelling approach and three new videos teaming up with influential fashion blogger Donna Kim in a series called “What’s Hot”
Meet Kmart Fashion blogger Donna Kim as she hustles around New York City meeting stylists, models, and designers so she can get all the hottest trends to you first
Go behind the curtain with Kmart Fashion blogger Donna Kim at New York Fashion Week and see the inside skinny on “the Super Bowl for fashion” – shows, designers, stylists, models, and all the hot trends.
Kmart Fashion blogger Donna Kim dishes tips on how to get the hottest trends on a budget as she meets Kmart’s New York fashion team.
You can follow Donna on Twitter @DonnaDaily and subscribe to the Kmart Fashion Youtube Channel here.
Breaking from our BEHIND THE DESIGN series we’ll be launching 3 new series for the newly developed Kmart Fashion. The first few episodes of FASHION FORWARD are here. You can follow along on Twitter, Facebook & Youtube, from New York Fashion Week and beyond.
FASHION FORWARD | Love Your Style Episode 1: Plus size designer Nicole prepares to show her latest LYS line to influential fashion editors and models, putting her passion on the line and into the line.
FASHION FORWARD | Love Your Style Episode 2: Plus size model and editor Fluvia and Maddy check out the Love Your Style line and are pleasantly surprised by what hey find – real beautiful choices for real women.
FASHION FORWARD | Fashion Week Episode 1: Fashion Week descends on New York and the Kmart Team has precious little time to prepare for the visiting fashion editors.
FASHION FORWARD | Fashion Week Episode 2: See how the models, designers, and even paprazzi all contribute to styling the trends in the hustle and bustle of New York Fashion Week.
FASHION FORWARD | Fashion Week Episode 3: In this episode, Fashion editors from all over the world come by Kmart’s suites to check out the line – and they like what they see.
FASHION FORWARD | All Hands on Deck Episode 1: Watch this season as we go behind the scenes with the Kmart designers who are blasting Kmart fashion into the future – it’s Fashion Forward Kmart style.
FASHION FORWARD | All Hands on Deck Episode 2: The team gears up to present their fab designs to the buyers, proving that with some hard work you can offer chic for less cost.
FASHION FORWARD | All Hands on Deck Episode 3: It’s the good kind of crazy as the designers get set to display their designs to the incoming buyers…they’re fueled by a love of style and plenty of coffee. Will a snowstorm undo all of their well laid plans?
FASHION FORWARD | All Hands on Deck Episode 4: It’s the moment of truth as the buyers come to the NYC design center to appraise the designers’ fashion lines. Will the buyers buy?
BEHIND THE DESIGN continues in New York with Sara Grey Miller of COUNTRY LIVING MAGAZINE as she describes her inspiration and success.
We visit her in her home in upstate New York and offices in Manhattan.
Directed by Sarah Price.
COUNTRY LIVING #1:
Sarah Gray Miller from Country Living Magazine describes eclectic American country style home trends. Shop Kmart for home décor & accessories for the home.
COUNTRY LIVING #2:
Follow Country Living Magazine Editor-in-Chief Sarah Gray Miller through her town & see how she actually lives the Country Living design aesthetic. See the inspiration behind the Country Living Collection at Kmart and learn how to create “visual drama”.
COUNTRY LIVING #3:
Get a glimpse into Sarah Gray Miller’s home life and learn more about the eclectic country style of decorating. See how Sarah’s inspiration from auctions and antiques winds up in the pages of Country Living Magazine and in the Kmart Country Living Collection.
Trend Trip #1: London. Watch Kmart Accessories Designers, Robin & Ruby, begin the design process as they get inspired by colors & trends in London.
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Trend Trip #2: Barcelona. Watch Kmart Footwear Designer Steve trek around Barcelona, getting inspired by European style for future Kmart shoe designs.
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Trend Trip #3: London. Watch the continuation of Kmart Accessory designers, Robin & Ruby’s trend trip to London. They look for next year’s “must-have” items and find inspiration for women’s purses in a hot military jacket. Learn why they say design is a visual language.
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Trend Trip #4: Barcelona. Watch the continuation of Kmart Shoe Designer Steve’s trend trip to Barcelona. Learn how it’s more than just sketching a great shoe…It takes years of technical experience to bring a great look with great quality at a great price.
New this week, join the KmartDesign Apparel Team in New York as Fashion Week hits.
What would Kmart have to do with Fashion week? Watch this three part series from our BEHIND THE DESIGN series on KmartDesign,
Ep. 1: See the behind-the-scene action of the Kmart collection as a celebrity stylist, fresh from the high-end shows, works with Kmart Design Team to create affordable, wearable looks at Fashion Week.
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Ep. 2: Kmart designers find inspiration for on-trend, approachable styles on the runway and the streets of Fashion Week.
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Ep. 3: Fashion Week culminates with the Kmart Design Editor’s Suite. Our design team have taken the best looks from the runway to showcase on-trend design at affordable price tags.
We just went live with a new batch of KmartDesign Designer Profiles.
These profiles are being used to supplement the BEHIND THE DESIGN behind the scenes webisodes. They allow people to drill down further into the individual personalities they are watching in the webisodes.
They are particularly useful in micro-targeting audiences… Home? Apparel? Children? Single parents? Each profile targets a different affinity group, telling them an authentic story that they can relate to.
I previously posted some youtube videos about my “top secret” trip to Hong Kong for an unnamed client. Well, the videos have launched and now I can tell you they are part of our Kmart Design “Behind the Design” series.
Even though the KmartDesign campaign has launched and is in full swing, the production and editing of additional episodes is ongoing.
Director Srinivas Sunderjan in Hong Kong
To document the Home Design Team’s trip to the SHC Quality Control Lab we sent Director Srinivas Sunderrajan and me, Production Supervisor Ryan Dembroski along. Srinivas came in from Mumbai, where he lives.
Here’s what we shot…
Episode #1: KELLY AND JAY. In vibrant Hong Kong, home of the KMart Global Sourcing Headquarters, the sourcing team prepares for the arrival of their Design counterparts. Organizing artwork, conference calls with vendors, and managing the 40 different countries and over 5,000 factories KMart product is made in are some hefty tasks. Kelly, KMart’s Senior Sourcing Manager says, “The biggest challenge is making sure we have all the samples.”
Episode #2: BARNEY. The KMart Design team reviews Jaclyn Smith final samples in their Hong Kong Global Sourcing Headquarters. Jay, DVP Global Sourcing says, “I really enjoy seeing something go from somebody’s concept that goes to a three dimensional product that gets sold to our customers in our store.” We witness an unusual example of this process – Jay’s feathered friend Barney inspires a whole line.
Episode #3: THE LAB. “Everything we produce, we also test,” says Jay, KMart DVP Global Sourcing, commenting on the stringent quality standards for KMart Design products. Watch as the team shakes, scrapes, washes, and even sets on fire Jaclyn Smith products for quality and safety in the largest in-house testing center of any retailer in the United States.
BEHIND THE DESIGN continues with another series of Jaclyn Smith “Behind the Scenes”, beginning in NY as she prepares for an upcoming TV commercial shoot and ending with her spending some time at home with her family.
First up, POINT OF VIEW. Jaclyn Smith visits the diverse New York City KMart Design team.
With “so many points of view”, Jaclyn says, the team is able to “meet the needs of a 20 year old to a 60 year old to a teenager… we’re able to do so many wonderful things at an affordable price.”
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In the second episode, BELIEVE MORE, watch as Jaclyn Smith and the New York City KMart Design team plan out her new TV commercial shoot, “Believe More Beautifully”. KMart Director Of Advertising Beverly says Jaclyn represents “iconic beauty for every day elegance… she really really cares about her customer.” In Malibu on the set of the commercial shoot, in Jaclyn’s own words, “When I think of my line, I think of quality and detail, and that’s a wonderful gift.”
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Next we visit JACLYN’S HOME. Iconic, beautiful, simple, elegant, family, Jaclyn Smith, and KMart Design. See how all these things fit together as Jaclyn and her daughter show us their home and the inspiration for great design and great value.
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Finally, learn more about JACLYN’S VISION. “Jaclyn doesn’t do something if she doesn’t believe in it,” says Dr. Brad Allen, husband of KMart star designer Jaclyn Smith. As Jaclyn Smith expands her line into home decor and outdoor living, we go inside her home and see the love and inspiration that goes into her work.
“Everyone should have great choices no matter what they can afford.”
We continue our KmartDesign “Behind the Design” series in New York with the Apparel design team as the work round the clock, “all hands on deck”, to prepare for presentations to the merchants.
These episodes were shot in early March of 2009 in New York.
Kmart was the first big box retailer to put a design group in New York. The talent they recruited may surprise you, from top schools and labels as Kenneth Cole, Calvin Klein, and Ralph Lauren.
As June explains the draw, “It’s really cool as a designer to be able to say I took this $2 fabric and made this $25 garment and it looks as good as the $250 version”.
Kmart’s Design team works all hours to prepare the new holiday line for presentation to buyers. Tweaks, alterations, steaming, and no sleep are all part of drilling down to what assortments will end up in stores.
“It’s important for a designer to wear the clothing they design,” Tori, Kmart Senior Designer, says. So she shops her local New York Kmart for a new wardrobe for tomorrow’s all-important merchant presentations and the arrival of star designer Jaclyn Smith. It’s getting crazy, but a good kind of crazy, preparing for the buyers.
A huge snowstorm strikes New York on the morning of the Kmart Design buyers’ presentation. Buyers decide how much of which designs to put in stores. After all the Design team’s hard work preparing, will they have anyone to present to?
We continue our KmartDesign “Behind the Design” series in Malibu CA with a three episode visit with iconic beauty Jaclyn Smith.
These episodes were shot in January of 2009 by Casey Suchan.
“The one thing I’ll say about KMart is that they are a family store” Jaclyn says. During a photo shoot in Malibu, Jaclyn lets us into her world and her motivation for working with KMart on her own line for over 20 years.
Wardrobe Assistant Katie lays out the options for a photo shoot featuring Jaclyn Smith and her new KMart line. We go behind the scenes and see Fashion and Celebrity Photographer Matthew Rolston make the choices on what to wear and what to shoot. Katie sums up her observations on KMart’s design – “Really more trendy, tailored, wearable – I think over the last couple of years they’ve really stepped it up.”
On the set of a Jaclyn Smith photo shoot, single mom and KMart Creative Director Jenni says having a ten-year-old means being responsible “about how you spend your money”. That’s where KMart Design comes in. Having kids of her own, Jaclyn can relate.
The first batch of designer profiles for our KmartDesign content initiative is live. You can see them at KmartDesign and throughout the web on video sharing and other social media sites.
The profiles are supplemental to the Kmart BEHIND THE DESIGN webisodes, giving more in depth profiles of the people who populate the series.
Here are the first batch. There will be many more to come.
KIMBERLY. See where Kim’s passion as a Kmart Children’s Clothing Designer stems from as her own daughter interacts with embroidered girl’s clothing she designed.
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FABIAN. Whether designing women’s dresses or graphic tees, Fabian’s passion for beauty — passion to make people look beautiful and feel good — comes to life.
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CEASAR. Kmart Stores’ Graphic Tees are inspired by New York’s energy and art. Watch great design come to life as Cesar redraws graphic images.
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MILLER. Kmart’s Home Décor speciality products, like Christmas decorations, are influenced by Design Director Miller’s life and Martha Stewart Collection experience.
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JENNIFER. Watch Jennifer’s daughter, Sophia, delight in wearing the kid’s skirts and girl’s gloves her mother designed. Kid’s clothing. Great value from Kmart.
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THERESA. Theresa is inspired by Kmart stores’ customers, the pattern and color trends she sees, and her family. Design science influences her home products and her design team.
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GLENN. From comic book artist to menswear design, Glenn’s gift is graphic images. “I’m a very lucky man,” Glenn says, and he chose Kmart.
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ESTHER. Great design doesn’t have to be complicated. See where Esther gets her home products inspiration and how fashion style relates to her overall life as she prepares for a dinner party
I’d like to show you this pilot mini-series — a “behind the scenes” journey following the Chicago (Hoffman Estates) Home design team, shot in August of 2008. Here we follow the team as they travel throughout the US and Europe, seeking trend inspiration for the 2010 product line.
In Ep. 1 we visit Theresa, Chief Design Officer for Kmart. She introduces us to her team, made up of designers from company’s like Pottery Barn, Martha Stewart and Macy’s. Review design boards, hear the strategy and learn how KmartDesign is radically transforming the image of this “American icon”.
In the second episode we follow as Kmart’s top Home designers unearth spring fashion as they research fashion style, home trends and color trends in Paris.
This episode two was directed Frank Anderson at Hoffman Estates and by Dan Ollman in Paris:
“I can’t believe this is Kmart.”
I’ll blog later about the goals of the project, bur for now suffice to say that the project is a video document of the story of Kmart’s journey to change the perception of the brand.
In episode 3, from London, KMart’s Chief Design Officer Theresa says, “There’s a lot of science behind design, it’s not just creative”. During their trip abroad, Trend Director Rick notes the KMart Design team checklist – color, shape, fabric, finish, pattern, and texture.
We see how the team takes that information and translates it into product that’s adaptable for the KMart customer.
This episode was directed by Dan Ollman:
In this final episdoe TREND TRIP, the KMart Design team looks closely at both apparel and home design in the shops of New York City as the two “are closer together these days.”
“Just because we’re Kmart doesn’t mean that we can’t offer great design at great value.”
In the final episode we meet the New York Apparel design team (who will be featured in upcoming episodes of “Behind the Design”).
Trend Director Rick says of their design products, “You want to make it the best that you can and still make it affordable for the customer”.
Scouring the streets of style mecca New York is part of that process.
