RESEARCH
Merrell was founded in 1981 with some pretty amazing shoe designs and color choices. The design direction for the season was “Fusion” so I started by researching vintage hiking packs in search of design elements to bring into the bags.
CONCEPTS
Shortly after beginning to sketch it became obvious that these packs needed a balance of panels for blocking and trims with high contrast colors. I went quickly from sketches to Illustrator line drawings to see how they looked when the volume was turned up on color.
FABRIC
For another element of fusion the aim was to pair a technical ripstop fabric with a standard weave fabric. Finding the right pair was critical. As with any story about fabric, this tale was filled with heartache and frustration as many of the chosen fabrics were out of stock or had high minimums. In the end, it was decided to use a fabric that was being used in the apparel line on a heavy parka. This waxed canvas now needed to find its ripstop soulmate.
TECH PACKS
After having worked with Merrell’s chosen factory for a full season, I catered the tech packs more to their liking.
SPECIAL TRIMS
Lash tabs were a common theme on vintage packs. The dual 10mm webbing daisy chain on the front of the hike packs was a signature element so a dual 10mm lash tabs was a good way to tie them both together.
SAMPLES
The sampling process included three sample rounds and one trip to Asia to work directly with the factory.
FINISHED PIECES
