About – DAVID STEEL

David Steel is a Boston based Innovation Creative, with over 20 years of experience in technical apparel design and creative leadership, for brands such as adidas, Nike, Reebok and Umbro.

He was most recently Senior Design Director of Innovation for adidas, where he was responsible for creating a future vision for sport, by designing holistic innovation concepts, for both the adidas brand, and individual categories and BU’s. This involved creating measurable benefits for both high-profile athletes and the adidas consumer, while creating a unique and ownable design aesthetic for the brand. David led designers in Herzogenaurach, Portland and Brooklyn, and was also the site lead for the adidas Innovation NYC office, in Brooklyn.

Through working closely with elite athletes, and the sport fitness consumer, David brings expertise in the integration of strong insights to high performance product, coupled with an ability to lead projects from conception to completion.

Driven by creating highly functional product, that connects with the consumer on an emotional level, David has designed and directed product for Football, Running, Tennis, Training, Cycling, Basketball, Injury Prevention/Recovery, Sports Bras, Yoga, and Wheelchair Basketball.

While at Reebok, David was responsible for directing and creating authentic technology platforms, and exploring new manufacturing techniques and materials, across footwear and apparel. He worked extensively with outside agencies, sports scientists, material developers, and footwear and apparel factories, to develop new, consumer relevant opportunities that improve performance and enhance their fitness experience. During this time, David oversaw the growth of the apparel innovation team from one designer, to a fully functional innovation department - creating a design language for Reebok innovation product, providing design direction for all apparel innovation projects, designing creative direction concepts, and providing seasonal direction for inline.

Previously, David held various design positions at Nike, where he was responsible for designing pinnacle performance apparel, and large seasonal collections. His highlights include designing Gameday kits (e.g. Manchester United), Club Training, and Mercurial Training for Global Football, as well as athlete (Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal etc.) and seasonal collections for Men’s Tennis.

In addition to his creative experience, David has extensive knowledge of the design, creation, and manufacturing process, and is able to lead and support teams through critical business milestones – ensuring that product is aligned with the direction of both the brand and creative direction.

His passion for mentoring and talent development has seen him lead the Reebok apparel apprenticeship program, provided mentoring for designers at adidas and Nike, and supported talent recruitment for design, across all brands. He has also taken part in a range of workshops, lectures and sponsored collaborations with academic institutions such as SCAD, Harvard, MIT, CUNY and Northeastern University. He takes personal pride in developing talent in his team, and providing them with the motivation, confidence, and guidance to create with freedom, and to achieve their individual career goals.

During his career he has lived and worked in England, Netherlands, and US.

Some of David’s other interests include collecting football shirts, where he has a personal collection of over 400 athlete and replica shirts. His passion for football shirt design is celebrated through his Instagram page, ‘Football & Fabric’.

https://www.instagram.com/football_and_fabric

Through working closely with elite athletes, and the sport fitness consumer, David brings expertise in the integration of strong insights to high performance product, coupled with an ability to lead projects from conception to completion.

Driven by creating highly functional product, that connects with the consumer on an emotional level, David has designed and directed product for Football, Running, Tennis, Training, Cycling, Basketball, Injury Prevention/Recovery, Sports Bras, Yoga, and Wheelchair Basketball.

In addition to his creative experience, David has extensive knowledge of the design, creation, and manufacturing process, and is able to lead and support teams through critical business milestones – ensuring that product is aligned with the direction of both the brand and creative direction.

During his career he has lived and worked in England, Netherlands, and US.

Some of David’s other interests include collecting football shirts, where he has a personal collection of over 400 athlete and replica shirts. His passion for football shirt design is celebrated through his Instagram page, ‘Football & Fabric’.

https://www.instagram.com/football_and_fabric

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