Established in 1961, Birdwell is an iconic Southern California brand known for durable board shorts and surf apparel. Renowned for its craftsmanship and timeless style, it remains a favorite among surfers. Michael was hired to elevate the brand, blending its heritage with modern design innovations.Style Direction: Led style direction for seasonal lines, creating cohesive collections that communicate trends, colors, trims, patterns, and prints while maintaining the brand’s classic aesthetic.Trend Forecasting: Developed comprehensive design decks to communicate key trends, colors, trims, patterns, and prints, ensuring brand relevance and growth in a competitive market.Original Artwork: Developed original art for prints and graphics, collaborating with in-house and external designers to produce designs that resonate with consumers.Sketching & Tech Packs: Sketched all designs and created detailed design tech packs, providing manufacturers with clear, precise specifications from concept to production.Fabric Sourcing: Sourced high-quality fabrics focusing on durability, color direction, and craftsmanship, aligning with the brand’s commitment to sustainability and longevity.Fittings & Production: Supervised fittings from initial development through final production, ensuring perfect fit and the highest quality standards.Cross-functional Collaboration: Worked closely with marketing and sales teams to align the product offering with brand messaging and customer feedback, contributing to sales growth and brand loyalty.Innovation & Growth: Continuously explores new materials, designs, and sustainable practices, keeping Birdwell at the forefront of fashion and function in the surf apparel industry.

Michael Patterson Consulting offers expert services in the fashion and lifestyle apparel industries, specializing in graphics, trend and color forecasting, apparel design, fabric selection, print development, tech packing, fitting, and wash/dye techniques development. Current and former clients include Dakine, Insomniac LTD, Swet Tailor, and Perfect Day.

Founded in 2002, Vince is a global luxury apparel brand recognized for its modern, timeless essentials for men and women, sold in premium retailers like Saks Fifth Avenue, Neiman Marcus, and Bloomingdale’s. Michael was re-engaged as a design consultant and creative director for the menswear division, providing strategic leadership and creative direction to elevate the brand's luxury collections.Creative Direction: Led the design team in developing cohesive, high-end menswear concepts, creating four luxury collections annually that align with the brand's aesthetic.Seasonal Strategy: Articulated the seasonal line direction to product developers and merchants, ensuring each collection reflected current trends while staying true to the brand's vision.Denim Oversight: Managed the denim division, providing creative direction on fits, washes, and packaging to ensure consistency with the brand’s high standards.Market Week Presentations: Presented collections to fashion directors from key accounts, including Saks, Barneys, Bloomingdale’s, and Neiman Marcus, securing major retail partnerships during market week.Look Book & Styling: Styled seasonal collections for lookbook photo shoots and buyer consultations, working closely with models to showcase the designs effectively.Style Boards: Developed design boards to communicate trends, colors, trims, patterns, and prints, setting a clear direction for the design team each season.Licensing Collaboration: Collaborated with licensing partners, offering strategic feedback and guiding the creative direction of licensed collections to ensure consistency across all product lines.Fabric Sourcing: Sourced luxury fabrics emphasizing quality, color direction, and texture, supporting the brand’s commitment to premium materials.Fittings & Production: Supervised fittings from development through final production, ensuring fit, comfort, and quality in each piece met the brand’s high standards.

M.NII is a niche vintage surf brand founded by John Moore. It is known for its authentic designs and high-quality surf apparel. The brand focuses on capturing the essence of coastal living while committing to craftsmanship and style. After the founder’s departure, Michael served as the creative director and design lead for the men’s division, focusing on repositioning the brand in the contemporary lifestyle marketplace.Collection Expansion: Expanded menswear to include new original styles while preserving the brand’s classic aesthetic.Design Leadership: Directed apparel design and development, from concept to production, ensuring brand identity alignment.Team Direction: Provided guidance to product development staff and collaborated with production partners in Los Angeles for effective execution.Production Strategy: Led efforts to transition production to international factories, enabling cost savings and facilitating brand growth in a competitive market.

Michael was the sole designer responsible for establishing the menswear division as an extension of the successful women’s label. He advanced through various roles as the creative and design lead, transforming the division from a complementary knitwear brand into a multi-million-dollar sportswear collection. He directed a team of design assistants, technical designers, product developers, and patternmakers to produce four collections annually.Division Establishment: Successfully transitioned the menswear division into a comprehensive sportswear collection, generating over $35M in annual revenue. Established a brand vision that laid the groundwork for future growth.Category Expansion: Introduced a line of woven tops and expanded the product range to include outerwear, leather jackets, and bottoms.Design Development: Developed design concepts and sketches for all collections, ensuring brand standard alignment.Team Leadership: Assembled and led a diverse team of production staff, apparel designers, technical designers, patternmakers, cutters, and sewers.Sales Support: Traveled to the New York showroom to assist stylists and accompany the sales team during key showings.

Ever, an emerging contemporary men’s brand known for its effortless style and quick rise in prominence among tastemakers was backed by the founders of Lucky Brand. Michael was recruited by a former Quiksilver design lead to establish and develop the brand, leading a team of technical and graphic designers, pattern makers, sewers, and product developers in producing four collections annually.Production Oversight: Supervised domestic production processes, including cutting, sewing, and washing, in downtown Los Angeles while managing relationships with overseas partners in Italy, Japan, and China.Denim Expertise: Gained a comprehensive understanding of denim cuts and washes through hands-on experience and collaboration with mills.Global Collaboration: Worked closely with Italian and Japanese mills to produce high-quality garments; traveled to China to meet with production partners and enhance operational efficiency.

Designed the walk shorts, pants, and jacket categories for this boarsports apparel industry leader. Developed innovative styles that combined functionality with contemporary aesthetics, contributing to the brand's reputation for quality and performance. During this formative period, Michael gained invaluable insights into design principles, honing his skills in technical construction, fit analysis, and fabric selection. His travels around the world gave him a global perspective on trends and styles, enriching his creative approach and allowing him to infuse diverse cultural influences into his designs.