https://lastheavy.net/

Last Heavy Interactive Lookbook

I designed the Last Heavy fashion microsite for the Autumn/Winter 2018 lookbook–Last Heavy’s first season. It began as a personal project, combining my interests in fashion and internet art. As a model for the lookbook, I found myself extremely inspired by the carefully curated and meticulously detailed aesthetic that designer & art director, Caesy Oney, had cultivated.

The official website for the Last Heavy fashion collection has many great design elements; the unique typeface and scrolling marquee text is an intriguing and novel element not often utilized in contemporary web design. Similarly, the urban/hip-hop inspired pieces are daringly juxtaposed against the rugged and rural wilderness environment, yet this contrast successfully highlights the bold design of the garments.

As an inspired web developer, I took it upon myself to extend Caesy’s work beyond the limited sphere of SquareSpace by creating an interactive, engaging web experience that closely echoes the original vision but pushes far beyond the creative limits of the SquareSpace platform. I took particular care to optimize the experience for mobile devices and tablets which are capable of touch interaction. I also ensured cross-platform compatibility for laptop and desktop browsers while maximizing performance of the critical rendering path.

With enhanced mobile compatibility, the user is invited to engage with the design and content through touch. This highly sensual, tactile interface simulates the experience of physical, in-store interaction, much like that of a fashion boutique. This critical experience for the consumer is typically impossible through traditional online shopping. However, here the consumer is able to closely identify and relate to the fashion objects they see on the screen. Touching is not only encouraged, but required, which helps to actualize the texture and feel of the garments themselves.

Designed from the ground up with no CSS frameworks (e.g. Bootstrap). Powered entirely by pure JavaScript (with minimal jQuery) in order to be as lightweight as possible and enhance performance, especially on mobile devices. Both JS and CSS were minified and images were heavily compressed with no visible quality loss. This ultimately reduced the average rendering time from over 20s to as low as 300ms.