MICHAEL HESTERBERG

I am a footwear designer and design leader with over 15 years of experience in creating innovative fashion and performance footwear. I specialize in leading design teams on the most challenging projects where visionary thinking is required. I love and look for opportunities where there are complex problems to be solved, preconceptions to be shattered, and new processes to be put into action in places where only a team can accomplish ambitious goals.

I am a very process oriented and strategic designer, so if this work interests you, we are birds of a feather. 

My primary focus and general design philosophy combine sketching with new methods of make and new technologies to drive iconic solutions and a progressive aesthetic, inseparable from the way they are made. I love to sketch, sew, sculpt, work in VR, or use any new tool to create new objects for the world to enjoy. Using the same methods gets the same results. I practice approaching old problems in new ways, and even better, new problems in new ways. 

During my career at Reebok and adidas, I have worked on and led teams that design some of these brands most iconic models, technologies, and partnerships: Pyer Moss, Vetements, Kanghyuk, Pump, Question, Liquid Factory, DMX, Boost, and Tour360, to name a few. I have been fortunate enough to be a part of redefining the sport of golf by bringing performance footwear to the game's athletes, culminating in the adoption of my designs being worn by the world's most elite golfers: Jason Day, Dustin Johnson, and The 2017 Master's Champion, Sergio Garcia. 

This work reflects how I think, probably more than I can articulate, but there are great stories behind every image, and it brings me great joy and pride to share them with you. I hope you enjoy!

Thanks again for checking it out!

-Hesty