For five years I was based in Shanghai. During this time I consulted with global trend agencies and fashion lifestyle brands providing Emerging Markets Consumer Insights. From my early days on development trips to China I had always been curious about the rise of the middle class consumer - how do they respond to luxury, mass premium and mass appeal brands and how will the brands need to change to attract them? Getting to study the dynamic consumer markets of Asia, up close and personal, gave me an entirely different perspective on the pace of product and trend cycles, as well as deep insight into how brands abroad need to rethink positioning, product development and campaign creative.
The consumer/trend insights stories I developed and my expertise in creative brand collaborations (primarily from my time with Puma) were a key value proposition for both international fashion brands looking to enter China and for Chinese fashion brands expanding globally.
The bulk of my work concentrated on strategic brand design and product definition/planning for fashion and home, including envisioning unique retail experiences. This was a continuation of the work I had led for Puma, Cole Hann and Clarks which helped to define their product and brand identities.
This work continued at Airpop, where I combined my expertise in product strategy, fashion lifestyle trends, consumer insights, merchandising and materials to define a new category of Air wearables.
