escada se
2019

DISCLAIMER
©Copyright of ESCADA SE

ESCADA Magazine

escada, 2019

DISCLAIMER
©Copyright of ESCADA SE

For Spring/Summer 2019, ESCADA introduced a global campaign featuring singer and creative icon Rita Ora as the brand’s ambassador. At the heart of the season was the ESCADA Heart Bag, redesigned with a bold, golden vintage heart emblem—a symbol of the house’s heritage and the defining visual and emotional anchor of the season.

To support the global retail experience, ESCADA created a premium editorial magazine distributed across 600 points of sale in 80 countries. Its purpose was to draw customers into the world of the SS19 collection — its energy, craftsmanship, personalities, and stories — while staying true to the brand’s luxury identity.

My Role

Categories/ Industries: 
Fashion & Luxury
Editorial & Publishing

  • Art Direction: Conceptual development of the magazine’s visual and narrative direction.

  • Editorial Design: Creating the full layout across all sections—Rita Ora feature, Stefanie Giesinger editorial, collection story, and interviews.

  • Typography & Grid System: Establishing typographic hierarchy and a universal modular grid.

  • Production & Print Preparation: Pre-press, color management, and ensuring print consistency across international distribution.

The Challenge

  • editorial Design · Layout · Art Direction · print

The SS19 magazine needed to unite three distinct visual worlds:

  1. Rita Ora’s bold, high-energy aesthetic
    – Dominated by red, high contrast, and contemporary pop-luxury attitude.
    – Spotlight on the Heart Bag, the hero product.

  2. The Collection Editorial’s visual language
    – Warm earth tones
    – A refined, understated sense of luxury
    – Organic visual flow

  3. Clean, readable editorial storytelling
    – For interviews and more text-heavy pages
    – Minimal, elegant, balanced layouts

The creative challenge was to harmonize these contrasting aesthetics into one cohesive, on-brand luxury publication—a magazine that felt editorial, contemporary, and fashion-forward, yet unmistakably ESCADA.

Design Approach

  1. Grid & Structure
    – A consistent structure was essential to unify the magazine.
    – 4-column grid for text-heavy sections ensured clarity and rhythm.
    – 3-column grid for fashion editorials created spacious, image-driven compositions.
  2. Typography
    – The primary display typeface was Jack London, designed by Terezija Donlic.
    – Used for headlines, statements, and interview collages
    – Paired with clean body typography to maintain readability
  3. Visual Language
    To merge the varied aesthetics, the visual direction relied on:
    – Color balance: Rita Ora’s strong reds were anchored by neutral earth tones across the surrounding spreads.
    – Negative space: Generous spacing elevated the luxury feel and prevented visual overload.
    – Editorial pacing: High-impact imagery alternated with quiet, minimal interview layouts for rhythm and narrative flow.

Outcome

Selected Articles on the Rita Ora x ESCADA Collaboration:
escada.com
Vogue.com
modernluxury.com

The final SS19 ESCADA Magazine delivered a cohesive, premium editorial experience that:

  • Amplified the Rita Ora x ESCADA collaboration without overshadowing the rest of the collection

  • Reinforced ESCADA’s luxury identity while embracing a more modern, energetic direction

  • Provided retail customers in over 80 countries a clear, accessible way to experience the SS19 world.

  • Maintained flawless production quality through controlled typography, disciplined grid systems, and precise print preparation

The publication successfully functioned as a brand-elevating retail tool, a collector-grade editorial piece, and a storytelling platform for the season’s most important personalities and products.

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