Case study · Shopify storefront
BlackedOut: a Shopify store built for Miami's underground.
BlackedOut makes apparel for Miami's house and techno scene. We designed and built blackedoutbrand.com on Shopify: a dark, minimal storefront with custom homepage and collection sections, a waitlist for sold-out sizes, and product photography prepared for black backgrounds.
Loads in about a second
The main content appears in 1.3 seconds for most visitors, rated Good by Shopify.
Responds instantly
Taps and clicks respond in about 22 milliseconds, well inside Google's target.
Custom where it counts
The rest stays standard Shopify, so theme updates stay simple.
Every change on record
Each edit is previewed on real products before it goes live.
The brief
A store that looks like the scene it sells to.
Stock Shopify themes are built for bright, daylight retail. BlackedOut needed a storefront that feels like the flyer for a late warehouse set, while checkout, collections and the theme editor keep working the way Shopify expects.
How it's built
Custom design on a standard Shopify theme.
Sections the owner can still edit
The homepage runs on five custom sections, including a minimal hero, collection splits, a goods grid and a Comms video block. Each is built the way Shopify expects, so layout and copy change in the theme editor without code.
Drops and a sold-out waitlist
Each AfterHours colorway is its own product with front, back, folded and sleeve shots. When a size sells out, the buy button turns into a waitlist sign-up, so demand from a sold-out drop is still captured.
Photos cut for black backgrounds
Every product shot is cut out and checked against pure black, where a faint outline that would hide on white becomes obvious.
What was hard
Dark shirts on a dark page.
Background-removal models are tuned for light products on light backdrops. On black apparel they leave soft, semi-transparent edges that read as a pale outline once the page behind them is black.
We built a cleanup process specifically for dark garments, so edges stay crisp and fabric reads as fabric, even in close-ups where the software mistakes black cloth for background. Every image is reviewed on black before it is uploaded, and real details like ribbed collar highlights are kept rather than cleaned away.
How changes ship
Changes are previewed, then published.
Every change on record
Every version of the theme is kept, including edits the owner makes in Shopify's theme editor, so there is a complete history of the store.
Preview first, publish second
Each change is reviewed on an unpublished copy of the store with real products. Approving it publishes the change, and any release can be rolled back.
What it shows
Brand-specific design on a platform the owner can run.
BlackedOut looks nothing like a template, yet it is still a standard Shopify store underneath. The owner manages products, drops and copy day to day, and the custom work stays isolated, versioned and easy to change.
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