—— Real-world brand & product

SUEDE1988

@suede.1988

Drops, sales and the pieces worn in real life: the brand as it actually runs.

A snowboard-rooted apparel brand I built end to end: concept, identity, product, sourcing and manufacturing. Conceptualized in 2021, launched in 2022. Built on one rule: the difference is in the details.

"Dreamed in 1988. Already in boat shoes."

Original logo design

The signature suede flap

The gap

I felt disconnected from the snowboard brands available at the time. Loud branding, thin construction, nothing that felt like the culture I rode in.

The approach

Individuality, product integrity and sensory identity over logos: premium materials, GOTS-certified cotton, details you find by touch.

The audience

People who move between snowboarding and street culture, riders who value subtle design over the obvious.

The numbers

4Drops

200Hoodies

200Sweaters

350T-shirts

300+Accessories

20Snowboards

Produced in Spain, Canada and the U.S. Sold mostly online and at a pop-up.

Product: apparel, hardgoods & accessories

Apparel Capsule

View capsule →

Rope Tow Capsule

View capsule →

Signature Snowboard

View specs →

Signature Hat

View specs →

Sterling Silver Ring

View specs →

—— How I design

Garments built with quality and detail at the centre.

Every SUEDE1988 product went through the same twelve steps, in four phases. I did all of them: design, spec, sourcing, sampling, supplier communication, production and launch. Tap or click a step to see the image.

Phase 01

Brand

Steps 01–02+

Step 01

Brief & direction

Who the piece is for, where it gets worn, what detail carries the brand. Colour direction is locked here against the seasonal palette.

Step 02

Logo & brand identity

The first logo, then its evolution into the other marks: cloud, globe, laurel. The italic wordmark came first and everything after was built around it, so one family reads across garments, packaging and store, at trim size as well as on a banner.

A signature scent shipped with every product, so the brand is recognised by smell as well as touch.

Phase 02

Design

Steps 03–06+

Artwork placement drawing, hoodie flap and drawcords

Step 03

Sketch & ideation

Curated, not loud. No oversized logos: quality of make and the small details carry the piece. That restraint is my style, and it's decided at the sketch stage: silhouette, panel breaks and where the suede flap lands.

Tech pack flat with artwork and colour specs

Step 04

Illustrator flats & tech pack

Every product drawn as a flat with artwork placement, colour specs and construction callouts: one full tech pack per collection before production.

Raw organic cotton and the 100% algodón orgánico label inside a SUEDE1988 garment

Step 05

Material sourcing

GOTS-certified cotton at 340gsm and 250gsm: heavyweight because at SUEDE1988 quality is one of our priorities. Suede trims, hardware. Sourced and specified for production in Spain, Canada and the U.S.

Step 06

The suede flap

The one detail every garment shares: a small scalloped suede tab, cut and stitched wherever it fits best on the garment. Finding a supplier who would run it took the longest of anything in the project: most tanneries wouldn't touch an order that small, and the ones that would couldn't hold the scallop clean. Locking that flap is what made the collection a collection.

Phase 03

Make

Steps 07–08+

Step 07

Samples & iteration

Fit and construction reviewed on real samples, corrections sent back to the factory, then re-sampled until the detail read right.

Cut panels for a maroon garment, pocket, collar and trim pieces laid out

Step 08

Manufacturing

Produced across Spain, Canada and the U.S., apparel to GOTS standards. Direct supplier communication on quality, pricing and lead times.

Phase 04

Launch

Steps 09–12+

suede1988.com shop page with the full product range

Step 09

Launch & retail

Packaging, campaign imagery, suede1988.com, a pop-up activation and press: the product taken all the way to the consumer.

Step 10

Pop-up launch

A physical drop: space, fixtures, rail and table layout, packaging and signage. The collection was sold in person, face to face with the people wearing it.

Three riders wearing SUEDE1988 tees on the hill

Step 11

Worn in real life

The last check on every decision: the pieces out in the world, on the hill, on the street, on people who bought them because the details held up.

Step 12

Ready to expand

With the make and the mark proven, the brand can split into sections without losing itself: Skateboarding, FreeSki, Snowboarding. Same wordmark, same suede flap, a discipline-specific line under each: room to grow the range while every piece still reads as SUEDE1988.

Next steps

Collaboration+

SUEDE1988 × 986 Productions goggle

A co-branded snow goggle: frameless shell, mirrored lens and a jacquard strap carrying both marks.

SUEDE1988 × 986 Productions goggle, camo strap

—— Lessons from SUEDE1988

01What I’m learning+

Building alone, across two countries, on a limited budget.

Clothing asks you to work across many areas at once. Doing it alone, on a low budget, alongside a full-time job and in two countries has been too much for one person. Partners who cover what sits outside your strengths matter.

Caring deeply about your product isn’t enough. Unless you communicate its value clearly, customers see just another option, and that takes a dedicated marketing budget.

It has also shown me that I work best in a team, and that I genuinely love building something from scratch. Missing that team is what’s pushing me toward a bigger brand: room to expand my creativity, people to learn from and the means to take ideas further.

02What worked+

The brand has been well received by the community in both Spain and the U.S. People connected with the designs, the scent included with each product, and the overall concept of the brand.

Quality has been consistently strong, and customers have appreciated the attention to detail and the effort behind every release.

03What I’d improve+

I would focus first on growing an Instagram audience through engaging content, then funnel that community into the brand. Building it takes time, but it makes everything after easier.

On product, I would start smaller: limited first runs of more unique pieces, tested with riders before scaling, rather than full runs from day one.

And I would involve more people from the beginning, so the project never relies on one person.

04Conclusion+

Five years of building SUEDE1988 has taught me how to do everything: design, sourcing, manufacturing, marketing, retail. It has also made clear which parts I actually want to keep doing, with the right people around me.