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Ralph Lauren x Rhinos Without Borders

Brand IdentityPackaging
To increase awareness for the Rhinos Without Borders initiative, National Geographic Fine Art Galleries pitched the idea of a limited edition series of scarves to Ralph Lauren. The campaign had a working title of “1,000 Rhinos +1.” 1,000 rhinos are killed each year by poachers and through this effort, we would be able to save 1 rhino per scarf sold.
Ralph Lauren x National Geographic Fine Art Galleries x Rhinos Without Borders
2017

During an exhibit in one of our galleries, David Lauren expressed interest in partnering with National Geographic Fine Art Galleries on a product that Ralph Lauren would produce and we would sell in our galleries.

After an initial meeting, we agreed upon a scarf as the product also in partnership with the Rhinos Without Borders foundation. A non-profit that fights to save endangered rhinos from poaching. Together, we would donate a portion of the sales of each scarf back to Rhinos Without Borders with the amount donated equaling the cost required to successfully transport a rhino to safety.

I based the initial design of the scarf on the famous photo by Beverly Joubert of a blindfolded rhino awaiting transport. The design consisted of a repeating pattern of rhinos, still blindfolded as they await rescue, with a single rhino encircled to represent the one that would be potentially saved by purchasing the scarf.

The scarf itself would be silk, a renewable resource, with the pattern reproduced by hand with a textile printer.

I then envisioned that the scarf would then be included in a hand screened acacia wood box from a sustainably managed forest with a variation of the print as the cover and a message on the interior printed on velvet. We also considered numbering each individual box.

After a series of meetings and initial timelines mapped out, the project ran into scheduling conflicts within Ralph Lauren and was never completed.