The Business of Fashion
Agenda-setting intelligence, analysis and advice for the global fashion community.
Agenda-setting intelligence, analysis and advice for the global fashion community.
LONDON, United Kingdom — Hunter has named Daniel Shaw its new design director. Shaw joins the 160-year old British rainwear brand from Christopher Raeburn, where he led the design studio.
"I have been watching Hunter from afar with intrigue," Shaw tells BoF. "The product evolution has really stood out — there's a respect for the heritage of the brand but each new product respects the design integrity and spirit of it. I'm really excited to be a part of Hunter's next chapter and see this as a unique opportunity to help realise the true potential of the brand."
Shaw replaces Niall Sloan, who was at the brand for four years: he has since moved to Escada. “I believe in Daniel we have found that very rare commodity — a designer that understands how to deliver design integrity, while always maintaining a commercial position and retaining visibility for the consumer,” Alasdhair Willis, creative director of Hunter, tells BoF.
Shaw's experience in designing ready-to-wear will benefit Hunter: when Willis joined in 2013, Hunter was a single-product brand. It has since expanded into outerwear and accessories, sales of which have doubled in the last 12 months. Willis plans to introduce new categories like knitwear into the Hunter portfolio. "We've delivered strong growth in this last year, now seeing a substantial part of our business that is now non-footwear," says Willis, who adds that Hunter will open its first North American store in Toronto in October. "Now that we've got that in place, we can really grow and drive off that to really start expanding into new categories and areas."
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