Angela Silva

Art Direction, Styling

I am working to develop the identity of an emerging leather goods label hoping to define itself through craftsmanship, quality and vintage design inspiration.

I wanted to place the leather pieces in a compelling context by creating a series of impressionistic scenes that would capture moments with a contrast of candidness and romantic staging. I found inspiration in early Kodachrome photographs from the 1940s, in which the vibrant color makes the subject matter feel startlingly realistic and yet mysteriously displaced in time.

The products are so much about contrast—for example, the washing and distressing of a premium leather—that the shots needed to support that idea: contrived and natural, gritty and lush, old and new.

Store Design

“Hard goods” are defined as products that are not consumed or destroyed in use and can be used for a long period of time. Hickoree’s Hard Goods is a 6-month-old online store that features a one-of-a-kind assortment of such products. I was asked to create a distinctive, pop-up shop to house a world of well-designed objects with a focus on American-made, timeless, and utilitarian pieces.

The idea of Hickoree’s as a 21st century general store with a wonderful mash-up of old and new became the theme for the space on all levels. After making a decision to preserve a certain rawness that would suit the Hickoree's aesthetic, I asked that the space remain unfinished to incorporate an industrial theme into the design. I used magnetic bolts in the concrete wall to hold up vintage bandannas, made a center table out of leftover, wooden construction beams and used cinder blocks as bench posts and old piping as a garment rack. Other fixtures such as shelving, the retail counter, and pegboard, purchased from Home Depot and similar retailers, were used to communicate the functional, tough aesthetic of the brand. I also scavenged Ebay and thrift stores for unique pieces to merchandise products. The store was the main feature in the style section of the New York Times both in print and online.

Concept / Art Direction / Design / Illustration Contributions

Over the course of several seasons, Puma and Evisu collaborated on a denim line. This catalog was created to show all the styles in the line and to introduce the new tattoo-embroidered, black denim.

The subject of the catalog: a visit to a tattoo parlor with a bit of a twist. I set up iconic shots, like the first viewing of a tattoo in the mirror, the seating of the subject in the tattoo chair, all with a bit of a twist—there is thread in the ink tray and it is the denim being tattooed. I sketched a detailed storyboard to ensure that the shots would include the angles and composition necessary to communicate the concept. The images had to work together in the catalog to tell a bit of a story but also be compelling enough to be used individually for visual merchandising.

The main challenge in designing the catalog was to integrate the style names into the page in a way that wouldn’t detract from the photos. I illustrated the product names in a vintage tattoo style, and they were printed on the pages as semi-transparent varnishes. The catalog was designed with a matchbook cover in a size that would fit into the back pocket of the jeans and would be included with purchase.

Art Direction of Photography / Product Styling

Helping Madewell, an offspring of J.Crew, define itself as a distinctly hip but honest denim-based brand for women meant convincing people to break away from some long-standing conventions to create images that felt intimate and accessible. I shifted the focus away from posing and heavy styling and instead contemplated basic ideas of composition and light quality as we aimed for something casual, playful and real: a portrait of the Madewell girl. Images were used both for the seasonal lookbook and advertising.

Art Direction / Design / Product Styling

The design of the Madewell SS09 Lookbook supported the realistic, candid quality of the images. Every design decision was based on economy and function, including a photocopied line sheet insert and a cover that can be addressed, sealed and mailed directly.

Art Direction / Design / Styling of Products and Models

To make the studio shots for this lookbook more interesting, we projected soft, abstracted architectural silhouettes across the set and onto the models. To relate the images to the design of the lookbook, one of the projections was die cut onto the cover, hinting at the source of the abstracted shapes that would appear inside.

Art Direction Contributions / Design Contributions


We shot puma’s SS08 lookbook in a vacant industrial space to create a strong contrast with the sharp, clean fashion images. We designed the book packaging to play up this contrast—a heavy metal bolt binds the pages between smooth plexiglass covers and a thick red rubber band mimics the painted red stripe that circles the run-down warehouse space.