Adidas on Thursday named Alasdhair Willis to the role of chief creative officer, effective in April.
In his new role, Willis will oversee the creative direction for Adidas and help “deliver a unified Adidas brand experience” across the three major divisions of performance, originals and sportswear, a press release read.
The appointment comes two years after Adidas’ global creative director Paul Gaudio left the company days after leaving a controversial comment on a Complex Instagram post. He had been in that role since 2014 and led creative leadership across all Adidas brands.
Willis has worked with Adidas since 2005, when he helped develop and launch the Adidas by Stella McCartney collaboration. The sport performance design collection for women was launched in partnership with Stella McCartney, who has been Willis’ wife since 2003. Since the launch, Willis has remain involved in the Stella McCartney partnership and has also participated in other projects for Adidas.
“Stepping into a permanent role at Adidas and evolving our partnership is a great privilege and feels like an incredibly exciting and natural next step,” said Willis in a press release. “The power and influence of the brand on sport, sports culture and beyond is immeasurable. I welcome the opportunity to help establish a new era of design and brand leadership at Adidas and, together with the team, take Adidas to even higher levels.”
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Outside of Adidas, Willis previously worked as the creative director of outdoor brand Hunter since 2013, where he was credited with expanding the business into multiple categories. He stepped down from his role in 2020. Willis also co-founded Wallpaper* Magazine, which covers architecture, design, art and more.
“Alasdhair is a true icon of the industry and together we have produced some of Adidas’ most innovative work, so to now have him lead our design community and set the future of our brand expression is a wonderful thing,” said executive board member of global brands Brian Grevy. “We are looking forward to seeing the influence of his unique creative vision, experience and expertise from developing and establishing some of the world’s most recognized brands.”
