STRATEGIST
LONDON, UK
ADIDAS / ALWAYS ORIGINAL
REFRAMING ORIGINALITY AS SELF-EXPRESSION FOR A NEW GENERATION
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/ HIGHLIGHTS
EDITORIAL AND SOCIAL FIRST STORYTELLING
SHOPPABLE LOOKBOOK
IRL AND DIGITAL LOCAL EVENTS
/ THE CHALLENGE
Despite being a cultural icon, adidas Originals was losing relevance with Gen Z women and non-binary audiences. The brand's 'sports style' heritage felt disconnected from how this generation actually expressed themselves - through fluid identity and self-defined originality, not athletic performance.
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The commercial imperative was clear: introduce the SS22 Women's/Unisex product range while rebuilding cultural credibility with young creators who had stopped seeing themselves in the brand.
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/ THE PROBLEM
Authenticity had become an empty word. Fashion was still selling sameness while identity was becoming fluid and self-defined.
/ THE INSIGHT
For this generation, originality isn't about being first, its about being true. Gen Z doesn't care about "authentic" in the traditional brand sense - they care about self-expression that feels real to them. Being original means building your identity on your terms, not following someone else's template.
/ THE STRATEGY
Launch Always Original with a simple principle: meet people where they are.​ Rather than tell Gen Z who to be, we built a platform that reflected who they already were.
Strategic Framework:
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Co-creation over campaign – Built the platform alongside female and non-binary creators, shaping it from the ground up with their voices and needs, not adidas's marketing agenda.
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Hyper-local authenticity – Led shoots in the spaces creators actually lived in - their neighbourhoods, their cities, their culture - keeping the work grounded in real style and real communities.
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Community as content engine – Developed adiClub workshops in their own cities, built around what they actually cared about (creative practice, skill-building, connection) not product pushing.
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Platform amplification, not brand takeover – Used adidas's reach to amplify creativity that was already driving youth culture forward, positioning the brand as an enabler, not owner.
/ MY ROLE
Led strategic development for the Always Original platform across digital channels, defining the cultural insight and activation framework adopted across EMEA, Americas and APAC. Partnered with internal creative teams and external agencies to translate the strategy into executable campaigns across markets.
/ THE RESULTS
+5%
traffic to .com/app
+45%
positive sentiment
+16%
average selling price
