This was more than a product launch. It was a moment to reframe perception.

In collaboration with Arc’teryx, I helped shape a strategic seeding campaign to build awareness and credibility for their next evolution in performance footwear: the Norvan LD4 and Vertex Speed. Two silhouettes were built for the mountains and designed to move the brand forward.

The challenge? Arc’teryx has legacy. Precision. Devotion. But in footwear, they’re still earning their voice. My task was to create a strategy that didn’t just introduce a new product, it invited the right people into the story.

I dissected how brands across outdoor, fashion, and streetwear approach seeding not just the “who” but the “why.” Who builds real community? Who sparks conversation without trying too hard? And where could Arc’teryx carve out a lane that felt completely its own?

What followed was a strategy that blurred the line between performance and perception. I mapped out key audience tiers from elite athletes to boundary-pushing creators and crafted a rollout that felt more like a cultural drop than a traditional launch. The seeding kit became a tactile extension of the Arc’teryx brand: thoughtful, restrained, and built to speak volumes without saying too much.

To push the narrative even further, I proposed a growing list of creative partners from the refined design language of Veilance to boundary-pushing collaborations with Nicole McLaughlin, Brain Dead, and ROA Hiking. These partnerships became proof points: powerful opportunities to blend performance with cultural energy, and to position Arc’teryx as a brand at the intersection of function, fashion, and future-thinking.

This wasn’t about hype. It was about resonance. A plan built to generate awareness not through noise, but through narrative — placing product into the hands of people who live the lifestyle, shape the conversation, and help push the brand from respected to remembered.