Twelve Stars fabricates look for Odabash Macdonald label

Twelve Stars has designed an identity for nascent fashion brand Odabash Macdonald, a collaboration between fashion designer Julien Macdonald and swimwear specialist Melissa Odabash.

The consultancy was appointed following a three-way pitch between undisclosed competitors earlier this year. Its work includes a print campaign, retail applications and a website, www.odabashmacdonald.com.

According to Twelve Stars chief executive Nicolas De Santis, the challenge lay in combining two ‘big name designers without giving one or the other brand greater prominence’. The solution, he says, was to keep the identity as simple as possible. Neither of the parent brand colour palettes was chosen – instead, Twelve Stars opted for a ‘neutral’ palette of white, black and fuscia.

‘We decided to keep it really simple,’ says De Santis. ‘The key to the brand is the strength of the names, so we stressed those and just added [a device] to link them.’ The group decided to use the combination of the designers’ surnames as research showed these had greater recognition among the public and retailers.

Odabash Macdonald launches its first collection this week. It comprises swimwear and beachwear, such as dresses and kaftans, with prices starting from £200 and climbing to £3000 a piece.