The delights 
             of mood board heaven!

I love nothing more than starting a project with a mood board. My ideas become focused and my vision is confirmed.... or, denied by the client, if they dont like it, its back to the mood board! As old fashioned as it may seem, nothing beats the old fashioned skill of pulling together a shoot in this way and thank god, because I love it.

In these boards here I created the looks for three shoots I ran, for brands in Canada. All menswear shoots, they were for: Tip Top Tailors, George Richards and Mr. Big & Tall. As part of the new target market we were now focused on (ages 26+, professionals), the look was very much a fresh and younger feel. The textures and colours were going to be modern and inspiring.

For Tip Top Tailors I was introducing clean lengths of canvas or hemp, simple old wooden dusty props that add an essence of tradition and grounding to a brand that encompassed a range of well tailored but also relaxed pieces. A feel to instill in the onlooker a feeling that the collections were of a superior quality, and a selection of brands that were suited to them.

For George Richards the range featured international brands such as Nautica, Kenneth Cole, Calvin Klein, and DKNY, so my focus was very much pure clean white, leather and brick. An attempt to ensure the brands could speak for themselves without too much of an external influence or tone.

My thoughts also go to what the brand guardians themselves would want? What can I do at this shoot to ensure the buyers have happy relationships with their partners? My job is to ensure the entire chain of investors are happy and looked after.


Lastly for Mr. Big & Tall I wanted to do something they had not done before. Introduce colour!

These are after all the Sping/Summer collections and on seeing the ranges I was inspired to pull Mr. B&T into a brave palette. With panels of painted plaster board and with a few classic props I would make sure the big and tall consumer was not left wanting. With a slightly older target market my tone would be more about complimenting the ranges in a fun and fresh way, and again to pull in that feeling of authenticity and confidence.

The art of pulling together mood boards is not hard and it is a wonderful aid to ensuring everyone knows what we are going to create. From the client to the photographer, the models and also the hair and make-up team, everyone gets the idea instantly. Some things only pictures can speak to, and with a creative team who communicate better visually it is an wonderful thing to behold.

Menswear mood boards 2011