S by Serena Williams, Produced by Town
Town is very privileged to work with some of the most influential celebrities, athletes, designers, and artists in the world. We had the exceptional honor to be able to produce shoots for someone who may be categorized by all four. Serena Williams chose Town to produce her shoots for her fashion label, S by Serena Williams.
S by Serena is in its fourth year, having launched in 2019. The styles are easy to wear, universally flattering and inclusive. From the inception of the brand, Williams, like many multifaceted entrepreneurs without a strict fashion background, released directly to consumers. Her debut collection in 2019 was well received and hailed by Vogue as “Inspired by the hustle of the 1990s and its streetwear, plus the busy lives of working women, the designs focused on wearability with a dose of excitement.” The following year in her Spring 2020 Collection, she also received rave reviews for her Kelly green pieces and giraffe pattern. Serena Williams expresses continually in her collections that she values function as important as form, and that neither should be sacrificed over figure flattery.
Williams’ direct-to-consumer business model is significant in terms of what content the shoot needed to produce. Many celebrities and athlete-entrepreneur hybrids who create lines of fashion or products, use their social media and publicity to sell directly to consumers. There are a number of advantages to this, including bypassing certain B2B protocols and being able to directly speak to and with your audience. Williams’ has said she takes cues from her audience and designs with her consumers in mind. This is part of this project that is exciting and makes the content creation, really dynamic because Williams is really a co-creator with her audience and fans. When Town was presented with the opportunity to co-create alongside an epic co-creator, We were really excited.
Shoots that are for the purpose of direct-to-consumer collections require more content. Williams’ is based in Florida and for shoots in NY, their team needed to be in and out. In total they shot 5 half-day shoots. The final results are content produced at the shoot with an iPhone, yes it can be as simple as that, and also the catalog shots for S by Serena Williams and her collection of jewelry. When creating for social at the same time as shooting for print and catalog, we want to bring the shoot to life and share with an audience the frenetic energy and creativity that comes out of town. The content below definitely shows a successful co-creation. Thank you again to S by Serena Williams for the chance to create with you, and for offering us a glimpse into your process.