Black Ivy is a thrift store in Philadelphia that combines clothes, cultural artifacts, and community engagement to champion and propel the revolution for social justice forward.
Inspired by the book Black Ivy: A Revolt in Style, founder Kimberly McGlonn saw an opportunity to pay homage to the mid-century fashion trend and highlight the connection between fashion, social justice, and culture, that remains so relevant today.
With a strong vision for the store’s narrative and purpose, Kimberly approached us to develop a brand identity that connects past and present, while facilitating an empowering and educational second-hand shopping experience. By distilling the rich historical context and aesthetics of the late 1950s–60s into a bold contemporary design language, we created a flexible visual framework to support both Black Ivy’s products and message.
Incorporating colors, photos, slogans, and even modernized fonts from the period (such as Vocal Type’s Martin), we created a visual link to the iconic protest signage, artwork, and voices that helped to bring the messages of the Civil Rights Movement to life. Connecting further to the grassroots culture of DIY flyer production, we developed a textural image filter to accompany the historical film photography—an effect we carried over to our secondary mark, the (black) ivy leaf, which nods to the brand’s focus on sustainable fashion.
Follow @blackivythrift to stay in the loop and to stay inspired.
Black Ivy is a thrift store in Philadelphia that combines clothes, cultural artifacts, and community engagement to champion and propel the revolution for social justice forward.
Inspired by the book Black Ivy: A Revolt in Style, founder Kimberly McGlonn saw an opportunity to pay homage to the mid-century fashion trend and highlight the connection between fashion, social justice, and culture, that remains so relevant today.
With a strong vision for the store’s narrative and purpose, Kimberly approached us to develop a brand identity that connects past and present, while facilitating an empowering and educational second-hand shopping experience. By distilling the rich historical context and aesthetics of the late 1950s–60s into a bold contemporary design language, we created a flexible visual framework to support both Black Ivy’s products and message.
Incorporating colors, photos, slogans, and even modernized fonts from the period (such as Vocal Type’s Martin), we created a visual link to the iconic protest signage, artwork, and voices that helped to bring the messages of the Civil Rights Movement to life. Connecting further to the grassroots culture of DIY flyer production, we developed a textural image filter to accompany the historical film photography—an effect we carried over to our secondary mark, the (black) ivy leaf, which nods to the brand’s focus on sustainable fashion.
Follow @blackivythrift to stay in the loop and to stay inspired.
