View this email in your browser WINDFALL 횡재 Behind Madama

Hello everyone,



Winter Butterfly." This one has a ton of Korean influence to it, so naturally it means a lot to me. The designs are really coming along, and I should have some previews for you all soon! I'm looking to start physical production next week. More info to come.



In the meantime, I finally got around to writing about the story behind the "Hollywood" Long Sleeve Tee. That piece has done tremendously well; I literally only have one small left. I guess I don't even have to talk about the meaning behind it to sell it, which is great really. Above all else, the design needs to be strong. But hey, let's get into the story. Better late than never!



(I cover a lot of her personal story in I've been hard at work on Windfall's third drop, "" This one has a ton of Korean influence to it, so naturally it means a lot to me. The designs are really coming along, and I should have some previews for you all soon! I'm looking to start physical production next week. More info to come.In the meantime, I finally got around to writing about the story behind the "Hollywood" Long Sleeve Tee. That piece has done tremendously well; I literally only have one small left. I guess I don't even have to talk about the meaning behind it to sell it, which is great really. Above all else, the design needs to be strong. But hey, let's get into the story. Better late than never!(I cover a lot of her personal story in the Reflections post , so I won't go too in-depth)

Hollywood Long Sleeve Tee

The Hollywood design is a distorted portrait of the late Anna May Wong. The first Asian-American actress to achieve international stardom, circa 1920-1940. She entered the industry when racial discrimination was rampant. But she just had too much talent to ignore.



A key theme of "Madama" is finding your identity. When I learned about Anna May Wong's story, it tied in perfectly with what I was trying to convey with the drop. She really struggled to find her place in the industry, and was always conflicted between her Chinese heritage and American upbringing. A struggle that a lot of second-generation Asian Americans can relate to.



For the design, I used a scan from an old publication. I've had a good amount of people ask about the legality of using this image. and how I went about using it. I dug deep to find the person who originally uploaded the image and contacted him, and it seems the photo was taken before 1923. (Anything published before this magical year is public domain) He even had a volunteer who colorized and cleaned up the image. With his blessings, I went to work!



If any of you are designing pieces and want to use images online, please familiarize yourself with copyrights and do everything in your power to ensure you have permission to use those images. I've got good friends, creatives, who have had their work plagiarized. And it's frustrating how commonplace it is with the streetwear industry to take images from local artists and not give credit. (I'm looking at you OBEY & Palace)



I experimented a lot with this one. To be frank, I don't even remember exactly what tools I used to get to the final design. I usually save all of the in-progress files, but I think this one went through about 30+ iterations before I got it right. Who has hard drive space for that?



The biggest challenge for this piece was making it not appear hypersexualized. The female body is beautiful in art, but designing clothing is a completely different animal. With the first few iterations, I heard, "it's cool, but I'm really not down to wear a naked woman on my shirt" over and over again.



I wanted to keep those sexual elements because an underlying theme for this piece is a commentary on objectifying women, but it just didn't work out in the long run. With some pieces, you just can't fit everything you'd like into the design. That idea's scrapped for a future drop (psst.. it's called "ELEVEN").



My screen printers in Denton, Pan Ector, did an incredible job with this one. I believe this one was a 7 color print? At least 5. I'm too lazy to check my invoice right now. For anyone looking to design shirts, it's crucial to find screen printers who really understand your vision. Mom and pop shops may be cheaper, but most of them just do simple prints for church groups, schools, etc. There's nothing wrong with that, but if you're looking to do complex designs, you have to find printers willing to work with you and challenge themselves.



All in all, I was incredibly satisfied with how this one came out. I'd like to make posts dedicated to my design process, complete with videos, if people are interested. It'd be far more engaging than text, but hey, gotta take it one step at a time.



Windfall's next drop is scheduled for April 1st, the brand's anniversary. I've got more sweaters, long sleeves, graphic tees, new logo tees, sweatpants, and hats coming. Stay tuned for more info on it.





Much Love,

Josh



Check out the latest Reflections post below, The Legacy of Anna May Wong.

THE LEGACY OF ANNA MAY WONG