Calestra Brand Strategy and Creative Direction
Hedvig Brekke
💼 Project: Calestra – Brand Strategy, UX & Creative Direction
Overview
Calestra is a slow fashion brand I founded, rooted in European heritage and modern femininity. Built as a “romantic rebellion” against fast fashion, it blends timeless storytelling with structured, digital-first execution and poetic brand strategy.
The project began as an exploration of how symbolism, narrative, and emotion can drive early brand traction, even without product. I led every stage of development, from foundational positioning and product concept to the brand’s digital ecosystem and content identity. Calestra is both a creative vision and a strategic case study in building a cult-favorite brand from zero, with strong early proof of resonance, conversion, and emotional clarity.
✨ My Role
Brand strategy & emotional positioning
Product and merchandising direction (hero item launch model)
UX + content strategy for an editorial-style website
Creative direction across visuals, typography, and symbolism
Instagram identity and storytelling content design
🧠 Outcome
A fashion brand with a cult-building content system, distinctive visual codes, and a narrative-led pre-launch strategy, designed to attract a niche, loyal community ahead of launch.
📸 Links
📈 Ad Performance & Early Growth Strategy
To validate the concept and test message resonance, I launched a pre-launch ad campaign centered on story, symbolism, and aesthetic emotion. The goal was to attract a niche, values-aligned audience, not just clicks.
One cinematic storytelling ad, inspired by Old Hollywood and romantic European visuals, delivered standout performance:
0.75 NOK (€0.065) cost per link click in Europe
1.80 NOK ($0.17) cost per link click in the US (East Coast)
These results significantly outperform typical lifestyle/fashion benchmarks, indicating strong engagement, narrative clarity, and visual appeal, even before product availability.
In parallel, Calestra’s organic growth strategy has proven highly effective: with under 250 Instagram followers, the brand has converted over 20% into email subscribers within two weeks. This early traction validates not just ad performance, but brand resonance, emotional clarity, and storytelling impact.
📸 Visual Breakdown
1. Hero Image
The brand's visual identity begins with a modern muse: romantic yet structured, poetic yet clear. This image sets the emotional tone, rooted in European heritage, slow elegance, and symbolic design.
Calestra’s core visual identity: a quiet, modern romanticism rooted in European elegance and strength. This muse portrait introduces the brand world and signature piece, styled as a symbol of timeless femininity.
2. Website UX Preview
Calestra’s website was crafted to feel like a brand journal, cinematic, minimal, and immersive. The layout prioritizes story-first navigation, emotional depth, and a seamless transition from world-building to pre-order.
Calestra’s homepage introduces the brand as a digital fashion house in the making. The layout blends cinematic restraint with emotional clarity, designed to invite, not sell. Every detail, from the typography to the signup phrasing, supports the story-first strategy and positions the scarf as a symbol, not just a product.
An early Instagram post from Calestra’s visual storytelling series. The lace scarf is reimagined as a symbolic place setting, inviting the audience to “join the table” before launch. It blends poetic language with subtle luxury cues to build anticipation and emotional connection.
3. Instagram Content Series
The Instagram feed serves as a storytelling engine. Built around archetypes, symbolism, and visual poetry, the content is designed to build emotional loyalty, not just clicks.
Calestra’s Instagram is built as a storytelling engine, not a sales tool.
This visual series weaves together archetypes, symbolism, and cinematic stills to create emotional depth and brand mystique. From editorial muses and poetic quotes to mood-building interiors and product teasers, every post contributes to a layered, cult-worthy brand narrative.
4. Moodboard & Brand Identity
From serif typography to deep reds and lace motifs, Calestra’s aesthetic combines softness with strength. The visual system is supported by emerging icons like the dove and lace tag, forming a symbolic ecosystem.
Visual system: A romantic rebellion built on symbols
This moodboard defines the Calestra aesthetic, merging poetic femininity with structured design. From deep reds and romantic serif fonts to lace textures and the emerging crest, every detail contributes to a rich symbolic universe. The visual language is quiet yet declarative, setting the tone for a modern fashion house with heritage soul.
5. Product Positioning Slide
Strategically centered around a single hero piece, the lace-like scarf in a wool - sil blend, the product concept reflects clarity, femininity, and focus. Messaging emphasizes slowness, quality, and timeless rebellion.
Our debut launches with a single statement piece: the lace scarf, designed as a symbol of timeless femininity, emotional clarity, and quiet power.
6. Brand Signature
A closing card reinforces the brand’s tone and direction, part editorial imprint, part fashion house. Simple, distinct, and ready for cult-following.
Calestra’s signature card closes the project like an editorial imprint, blending fashion house elegance with a poetic, symbolic mark. Soft yet bold, it captures the brand’s mission: a quiet return of forever fashion.
bycalestra.com | @bycalestra
Work in progress, launching Summer 2025.
This is a founder-led, self-directed brand and creative project built from scratch.
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Posted Jun 16, 2025
Created Calestra, a modern fashion house with a symbolic, story-first identity, built from scratch across strategy, UX, and creative direction.
Calestra Website Redesign for Narrative Commerce
Maison IX – Digital CRO Agency Brand & Product Suite
Calestra – Visual Worldbuilding via Pinterest
