Beyond Black & White | Open Design & Card Studies

Abstract

Yves Saint Laurent has spent decades building an identity around black-and-white style, and that is a big part of why the brand is instantly recognizable. However, in a market where consumers increasingly expect brands to feel alive, personal, and responsive to the world around them, that same style can start to read as static instead of sophisticated. This report presents a report we are calling "Beyond Black & White," where seasonal, nature-inspired colors are added onto YSL's identity while leaving its logo, silhouette, and core heritage untouched. To understand how real people might actually react to this before we take the idea any further, we designed a short qualitative interview study built around five open-ended questions and spoke with five fashion design students from Raffles International College, Bangkok. This report goes on to describe what they told us, alongside how those reactions line up with existing branding research and comparable real-world cases, most notably Louis Vuitton's collaboration with artist Takashi Murakami. We also introduce a companion product concept, a reversible outerwear piece with a monochrome heritage side and a seasonal color side, as a concrete way to test the idea. Finally, the report evaluates the strengths of the concept, the parts that are still only hypothetical, and what would have to be true if a brand such as YSL were to actually proceed with something like this.

Full revised manuscript

The complete author-supplied revised edition is available below as a 14-page PDF. It is the current journal manuscript.

This PDF is text-only. The authors' original text is offered under CC BY-NC 4.0; quoted material and third-party rights are not relicensed.

Read or download complete revised text (PDF)Author-hosted illustrated revision (image rights separate)

Publication record

Article ID: ODCS-V0-014
Issue: Vol. 0 · Founding Issue
Received: 2026.09.16
Published: 2026.09.20
Language: English
Status: Final published edition (revised manuscript); editorial decision, not independent peer review
License: CC BY-NC 4.0
Revision posted: 2026.10.01
Text-only archive DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.23073299
Final editorial decision: 2026.10.01

Editorial decision: this is the final published version. Earlier screening notes and signed comments remain dated records; publication does not imply independent peer review.

Citation

Shoon Lae Thadar Cho; Nang Seng Hom; Mya Yati Moe. (2026). Beyond Black & White. Open Design & Card Studies. DOI: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.23073299.

Earlier editorial note

The three authors supplied a revised concept report. The current 14-page journal archive excludes unverified illustrations; the author-hosted illustrated version is linked separately. Five fashion-design students were interviewed, so responses should not be generalized to YSL customers. Some online reference details remain incomplete. The work is a student proposal and is not affiliated with or endorsed by Saint Laurent. Independent peer review has not been completed.

Version History

Version 1.0 · Initial open review edition (September 2026)
Version 2.0 · Author-revised public edition (2026.10.01). The three authors supplied a revised concept report. The current 14-page journal archive excludes unverified illustrations; the author-hosted illustrated version is linked separately. Five fashion-design students were interviewed, so responses should not be generalized to YSL customers. Some online reference details remain incomplete. The work is a student proposal and is not affiliated with or endorsed by Saint Laurent. Independent peer review has not been completed.

Editorial screening note

Open Design & Card Studies Editorial Office

Editorial screening

2026.09.20

The project connects a specific visual-identity proposal with interviews and a reversible-garment concept. The original eleven-page manuscript and illustrations are retained. This is an exploratory student proposal, not an announcement or endorsement by Saint Laurent. The points below invite clarification before a revised edition.

Reconcile the interview sequence: the Method section says that every participant saw the illustrations before answering, whereas Question 1 and the Results describe an unexposed baseline. Specify the actual order and what each participant saw.
Add a compact evidence trail linking the four reported themes to anonymized participant excerpts, including disagreement. Explain recruitment, voluntary participation, consent, and how responses were recorded and analysed.
Keep proposed appeal separate from observed purchasing. Five design students' reactions and stated willingness to wear a garment do not establish customer demand, purchase behaviour or broad market acceptance. Reconsider the generalisation in the conclusion.
Provide complete, separate references for the fashion-media coverage and the heritage material. Credit the sources and production methods of the before-and-after images and garment illustrations, distinguishing original design work from third-party imagery.
For a next design iteration, document material, construction, wearability and cost assumptions for the reversible garment. Readers may also discuss whether the concept changes perceived brand identity or mainly changes colour preference.

ODCS-V0-014 · Publication record

Editorial and review record

Dated editorial notes and signed comments are preserved as publication history. New public reviews are closed.

Closed

Published records 2

Revision update

Editorial update, not independent peer review

2026.10.01

The revised report better distinguishes a student concept from a brand proposal and describes five student interviews and their limits. The journal PDF excludes illustrations pending evidence of reproduction rights. Please provide precise, retrievable citations for the media and brand sources, and clarify who created each concept illustration and any generative tools or third-party inputs used. This update records editorial screening, not independent peer review.