Inspiration Behind Superdry

In an Interview in 2019 with Rob Moore, Dunkerton explained where the Japanese styling stemmed from regarding his Superdry brand. He explained that he and Holder went to Japan during the early years of Superdry to find some inspiration to help build and evolve their brand. As Japan is known for its artistic, unique style, they discovered that their packaging was their most exciting element. They found ways to incorporate the fun signages and stimulating letter styles within their brand. This trip also helped them to reflect on the way Superdrug stores were organised. Dunkerton explains that the way stores have been planned out is for the customer experience, it has been created so that whenever the customer would walk into different departments of the store it would be exciting as the layout would change. This encourages the customer to explore the department they walk into to embrace the different visual setting.

It is interesting to see that the Japanese element that was one of the inspirations for this brand is still carried into the brand’s aesthetic decades after, even when the brand is continuously evolving. This shows that Superdry holds onto the core aspects of the brand and continues to develop from that idea. This inspires me within my work to find a core element that reflects and motivates my work process and to aim to continuously showcase this element throughout my research, design and making processes.