The Big Favorite: Immersive Media
Written by: Sam Schwartz
When The Big Favorite was established in the 1930s, it was known as a workwear brand specializing in cotton trousers and jackets. Dickies purchased the license for the brand, intending to take the styles and rebrand them. However, in 2020, the owner’s great-granddaughter, Eleanor Turner, reacquired the brand and restarted the company with new ideas and a vision committed to more sustainable processes. Turner explains that she decided to revive the brand because she “saw an opportunity to do something truly unique born out of a personal problem where I couldn’t find well-made base layers devoid of plastics that didn’t create trash when I was finished with them.” She continues, “The Big Favorite would be revived to leverage creativity as the antidote to compromise.”
The brand’s most significant campaign is its recycling program offering consumers the opportunity to return their underwear and shirts to have them recycled into new yarn for tarps, tents, and other fabrics. Additionally, they utilize natural fabric dyes and manufacture solely in the US. Overall, Turner made it very clear through her work and words, “The company’s goal is to set a new zero-trash and circular standard for American basics.”
In late 2022, Turner approached Drexel’s immersive media professor, Eli Robbins. She proposed a joint project between her business and the course to create a pop-up collaboration space in room 109 in the URBN center. As the class began, Robbins made small groups assigned to develop a pitch for the space utilizing immersive media. He required that students repurpose and reuse things and deliver an eye-catching and unique experience.
Each group had a unique take, including using a newspaper stand referencing the historical Big Favorite branding, an underwear dying station with natural dyes to mimic the natural dying process, and dancing 3D projections that reflects body positivity and inclusivity included in the brand’s ethos. Turner’s response to the proposals “[I] was blown away by some of the ideas that came out of our brainstorm session at midterms. It got me really excited about the final, and I couldn’t wait to see what was delivered.”
After the pitches, the group came together and combined many of the ideas to create an immersive experience. The class collectively agreed on a projection mapping of a big butt with an inclusive experience where students could scan a QR code and design a pair of underwear to be projected onto it. There was a newsstand with newspapers utilizing excess big favorite fabrics, explaining the brand and its history. The magazine described how to reuse the material to make bags, wallets, and other small items.
During the pop-up, Robbins asked, “Are people stopping and looking,” This made it clear that the primary purpose of a project like this would be to catch attention, as Robbins responded, “That’s all that matters.” Turner shared similar sentiments “I truly wanted everyone to have fun and follow their joy. When I saw the final project, I could tell the team did just that. The experience was unforgettable and so much fun!”
