Studio Frith on designing Alexa Chung's "formal but playful" fashion label

Earlier this year fashion icon Alexa Chung had her many fans reeling with the news of her own label. The campaign saw the model, muse, presenter and writer put her trend-spotting taste to use in creating her own collection. Such an exciting move from Alexa had to look slick and playful in every aspect, from the clothes to the branding, which was created by Studio Frith.

The studio’s past projects, including work for Frieze Art Fair and designing a Patti Smith-inspired identity for Art Night festival, were a perfect fit for Alexa’s label which encapsulates effortless cool with a layer of class. “Studio Frith took such a unique and inspiring approach to the creative process; taking the time to understand who I was, where I came from and importantly how I wanted Alexachung to be perceived through branding,” explains Alexa. “I remember leaving our first meeting thinking ‘they get it!’ and… lo and behold, they did.”

Studio Frith’s campaign design is a balance a between irreverent fun and chic contemporary design. The art direction for photoshoots by Jon Gorrigan, sees models with jumpers stuck over their heads like cashmere monsters. If their faces are shown, Zoolander-like Blue Steel poses are swapped for silly smirks. On top and across collateral for the label is a typographic logo, an instantly recognisable AC.

“She’s a modern day Jean Luc Godard heroine in real life,” says the studio’s founder, Frith Kerr. “The AC marque we created is designed to be formal and playful, reflecting Alexa’s classical and personal direction for her collections.”

By creating a campaign with varying tones, “the marque can be singular and monolithic or interactive with images creating a fun dialogue between the two”. This dialogue is spoken across packaging, online, and even by “garment labels with clashing colours peeping out of the clothes,” says Frith.

The multi-purpose logo is intentional: “The use of logo repetition in the label design and swing tag collateral is designed to be like a festival anthem chorus from a song or football chant,” says Frith. Just like the designer, the clothes, and the campaign it’s both “happy and clever”.