Sharp Sharp’s Steve McInerny and Mel Williams talk trends, fashion and successful style guides

Steve, Mel, it’s great to catch up. Let’s start with you Steve – you recently announced a partnership with Mel. Can you tell us a bit more about this? Steve McInerny, Director, Sharp Sharp: I’d been asked about a number of apparel and fashion-related projects and saw a need for a specialist collaborator. After speaking with a few people, Mel’s impressive experience with the likes of Disney, Mattel and Gola – and her blend of skills – really stood out. And perhaps most importantly, once we started discussing ideas, I saw that Mel is a great collaborator.

The plan is to ‘divide and conquer’ through Mel leading on trend, lookbook and fashion-focused elements of projects. I will continue to lead on most other areas of design, as well as any brand strategy work. There’s enough overlap between us that we can help one another out.

Let’s talk trends Mel. Can give us some insight into how you keep in touch with trends? And could you highlight a key trend you have noticed recently?
Mel Williams, Fashion Design and Illustration Associate, Sharp Sharp: My process when it comes to researching up and coming trends involves a number of resources – usually social media looking at independent fashion brands on Instagram and Pinterest. I especially love brands such as Lazy Oaf, Outsiders Division, Jaded Lnd, Ragged Priest.

When I can, I use WGSN which is amazing. It covers predictions and what’s trending now, all on one platform. It also publishes not just fashion trends but market trends, the retail climate, new collabs and what’s progressing in digital and Web 3. I also like to look back in history too, depending on what project I’m working on.

“We were tasked with condensing Lambretta’s extensive corporate guidelines and updating them into a licensing-friendly version.”

What I have noticed over recent years is that fashion now is incredibly individual and to each and everyone’s own taste. Not like back in my day in the Eighties and Nineties where you had to have the latest grunge look, or POD shoes, or baggy dungarees and bucket hat from the rave movement… You could not be seen without wearing classic brands such as Chipie, Lacoste, Benetton, Kappa… Anyone remember Le Shark? Ha! And those were great memories, but today it’s more about individualism.

Obviously the reclaimed, upcycling vintage trend isn’t going anywhere. And customisation is going to grow more and more. I think the future has to be customising fashion in-store – more hands-on experiences and experimental retail. Also, the transition from gaming – and customising digital fashion products to purchasing the physical creation – is already underway, as proven with the recent Shopify and Roblox partnership, which is launching next year.

Great insights. Thank you. And do you think certain product categories are the trend-setters in licensing?
Mel: I think fashion – with a focus on footwear – is still a strong leader, especially if it’s limited edition or collectable. Also, expanding from products into gaming, digital and phygital will just grow and drive the market further.

You recently completed a design project for Global Trademark Licensing and the Lambretta brand. Can you tell us more about this?
Steve: Growing up, I remember the scooter kid in our village talking about how much he loved Lambretta – and of course the big presence of Lambrettas in Quadrophenia – so I was very happy to be asked to work on this one.

We were tasked with condensing Lambretta’s extensive corporate guidelines and update them into a licensing-friendly version. We structured the style guide with this in mind, with a section on the core brand complemented with sections and assets for the ‘Contemporary Mod’ and ‘Urban Style’ audiences.

Chris Tague at Global Trademark Licensing has been very complementary about our work, and Lambretta asked for minimal changes to our designs, so while it’s early days for the updated branding we believe our involvement has been a success.

Thinking about the Lambretta style guide, are there any specific examples of creative that you are particularly proud of?
Steve: I love how Lambrettistas, as fans of the brand are known in some places, put so much of their own personality into the scooters and their clothing through some radical customisations. This spirit has been injected into the style guide, through the use of modular elements inspired by badges and an encouragement to make products personalise-able.

What sort of research did you do before and during the development of the Lambretta guide ?
Steve: We conducted visual research into the brand today, its history, and its influences on culture such as the Mod movement. During this work, it became clear that there are two key audiences: the fans of classic Lambrettas and mod culture, and the younger, more urban audience who might buy Lambretta’s current scooters.

In your experience, has the role and content of a style guide changed in recent years?
Steve: The rise of collabs and brands being prepared to be more flexible than in the past has opened up lots of creative possibilities… Style guides need to convey the spirit of the brand rather than just be a collection of assets. And with online brand guidelines services such as Brandpad, style guides can become evolving documents instead of static PDFs.

Mel: I agree with Steve 100% regarding conveying the spirit of the brand. I’ve been working on a recent Netflix anime which is due out next year, and it’s all about the storyline and the emotional connections with the characters in the style guide. The assets tie-in beautifully with the premise and are so different to the norm. It’s been a pleasure to work on something so refreshing.

Would love to chat about that once it’s out. And have you seen brand owner’s design needs evolve in recent years?
Steve: With the rise of 3D printing, gaming and digital products, the assets required are changing too – 3D, audio and video elements are becoming increasingly useful for example.

3D can be tricky to do well, so I work with 3D designers on these projects. I gained experience in working with video, audio and motion graphics when working in-house at TV producer Fremantle for brands including Danger Mouse and The X Factor. It’s always exciting to help bring brands to life on screen.

Mel: I agree again with Steve, from my own personal experience having a brand, 3D printing is a great tool to see your 2D ideas come to life. Also, I’m definitely wanting to shift to digital and phygital. My brand Phat Kandi has recently soft launched in Roblox – still in the testing phase – but I can’t begin to tell you how less stressful it is to create digital products rather than physical. There’re no creative limitations… None of this “sitting on dead stock” business! And it’s also better for the planet!

While we’re talking tech, I understand you are using AI tools in your work?
Steve: I’ve been experimenting with AI image generation for a couple of years now – and more recently video generation too. The possibilities are hugely exciting, though it can be unpredictable so requires patience and clear direction to achieve a desired result. Right now, I use AI tools to help with product concepts, mock-ups and supporting imagery… I did this in the Lambretta project for example. In time I expect it – and my skills – to progress to a point where I can create key art with it too.

“Style guides need to convey the spirit of the brand rather than just be a collection of assets.”

Mel: Personally, I get frustrated with AI… I think you have to spend a lot of time on it to perfect it. I prefer the old skool design process, AI scares me a little! Ha!

I’m sure you’re not alone! On that, I know Sharp Sharp has developed an AI-enhanced brand strategy tool for smaller businesses called BrandSeed. What’s the thinking behind it?
Steve: I think one of the disadvantages smaller businesses have always had compared to larger ones is the lack of resources or expertise to build a strong brand strategy. Large Language Models such as ChatGPT have progressed to the point now where – when combined with a rigorous process and the right input and direction – they can speed up the development of brand strategy and massively reduce the costs involved.

To achieve this, I’ve developed BrandSeed, an AI-enhanced brand strategy service. It is being developed with my collaborator Josh Dawson, in association with London South Bank University. There are lots of possibilities for its use within the licensing industry, both for smaller IP owners and creators and for ones who manage a large number of brands.

Sounds interesting! Returning to your collaboration with Mel, how are you finding this working in practice? Do you think more creatives should collaborate?
Steve: Working with Mel is great. Her experience in fashion, digital and social media have sparked lots of ideas. I think neither of us is particularly ego-driven, so will also both come up with ideas for the same project, as we did on some Thunderbirds t-shirt designs recently for Anderson Entertainment.

I love creative collaborations, it opens my eyes to new perspectives and makes projects more enjoyable. At Sharp Sharp, we work with a small network of associates rather than employees. This makes it easy for my associates and me to collaborate in whatever way works best for the project. Working in house or at an agency can reduce this freedom a little, but there are often opportunities to work with people from partner organisations, so look out for them!

Mel: Steve has been great to work with. He is an intelligent and generous designer who knows brands inside and out. I do love to collaborate. Working alone can sometimes be frustrating especially if I’m having a blank day! You get so much more creativity from bouncing ideas around.

“I love creative collaborations; it opens my eyes to new perspectives and makes projects more enjoyable.”

As a design agency, how do you measure success for your clients? How are you able to show them that your design work represents ‘value for money’?
Steve: We follow up with clients to find out about how effective our work has been. This could include increased sales, them winning a new client through a brand presentation or the brand getting talked about more.

Measuring return on investment for branding work can be tricky. We’ve identified a set of four key areas where brands have a direct impact on business performance – and have the stats to back this up. The brand’s performance in these areas can be measured through surveys and other means, to provide proof of that all-important return on investment.

As an independent design agency, how challenging is it to stand out in the market?
Steve: I’ll let you know how to ensure stand-out once we’ve cracked this ourselves! I see our strengths being applying our rigorous big-brand thinking and experience from other industries to the licensing world, a sense of playfulness gained from our entertainment industry experience and the flexibility of our associate-based structure. Our marketing resources are minimal, so we express this chiefly through our work and the way we work, word of mouth is vital.

Finally, can you both pick a couple of examples from your recent portfolios of design work you are particularly proud of – and that you think worked well commercially?
Steve: I’ve undertaken freelance work for Warner Bros’ entertainment division for a few years now, and love working with their top-tier content. This has included tradeshow graphics featuring various DC superheroes – as well as work for their mega formats such as The Bachelor.

And I’m proud of the work I’ve done for Global Trademark Licensing, including work to elevate their sales materials as well as work on one or two of their automotive projects. In both cases I think the work has succeeded because I really care about the content, and in representing it in the best way.

Mel: I’m incredibly proud to have worked on the apparel side of Gola since 2023; again a great heritage brand from back in the day. Creating collections that are relevant to today’s consumer have worked well and are selling in multiple stores.

Working with the UK digital metaverse fashion house Republiqe on Phat Kandi has been very rewarding and I’m super proud! Republiqe has built a virtual fashion department store called Hex, where you can purchase digital clothing. There are a few brands in there, each with our own branded themed concession. Moschino is monochrome, Irregular Choice has a fun fair, magical vibe, the Republiqe collection is couture and the Hex store’s own range is casual streetwear. Phat Kandi is themed as a candy store, naturally, with a branded retro feel.

It’s working commercially because James, the creative director, is so giving and supportive and really knows his stuff in this space. Also, it makes so much more sense to have Phat Kandi in Roblox, as it’s a fun visual brand with graphics that pop, alongside no creative limitations and more geared towards gaming and the gaming audience. I

It’s still early days but Phat Kandi is doing well so far. We are releasing an AW/Halloween drop in October and more features in store such as limited edition drops, gamification, VIP events, the drinks brand Hype has a cafe in there. A beauty bar is opening soon.

Exciting times. Thanks again!