William G. Hildebrand ³ (b. 1994 in Arles, France) is a color and material footwear designer at Nike. In 2018, William starts a trend strategist position for Fashion Snoops—a NYC based trend forecasting agency—where he led projects for heavy hitting brands such as Timberland, Vans, Woolrich, and Foot locker. Through this role, he develops a fascination for crafting narratives which connect the dots between culture, consumer and product. In 2021, he relocates to Rotterdam where he starts his footwear design journey at Mizuno as a color designer. In this position, William collaborated with the global footwear team to establish seasonal color strategies for performance and sportstyle categories through market research, trend analysis, and concept development. Additionally, he was responsible for creating 2D and 3D color CADs within various footwear categories including running, handball, and volleyball. Fast forward to June 2022, William lands a footwear design role at Nike EMEA Geo Express Lane—a dream position where he can apply his experience in trend forecasting and pursue his passion for storytelling, color, and materials.
Footwear Color & Material Design
Mizuno Wave Stealth Neo “Avatar”
Creation of a trend story, color direction and color design for Mizuno Handball. Inspired by the collision of physical and digital worlds, Japanese cyberpunk movies, and the Metaverse.
This Wave Stealth Neo is part of the "Avatar" pack I came up with for Mizuno Volleyball's AW23 collection. Based on the brand's DNA, macro societal trends, and consumer insights, I crafted the story, moodboard and color palette. This theme was applied across Mizuno's sports categories (Running, Indoor, Tennis, etc.). For this specific model, which is worn by professional volleyball players during world class competitions, I wanted to highlight key elements of the shoe to create brand visibility from afar—all while highlighting the latest features of the shoe. The result is an energetic yet commercial offering for top athletes and volleyball players aspiring to go pro.
