James Lee Thompson

On Running / Global Head of Material and Colour Strategy

James has spent the last 10 years making catalytic moves across analogous industries, paving the way for colour and material led design. Completing his Bachelors in Menswear Design from London College of Fashion (with sponsorships from Swarovski and Burberry along the way, and an internship at Marc Jacobs in NYC) James knew that it was the textiles and finishes that really fed his creativity.

From developing rubber high heels for Hunter Boots runway collections, furry slides for Fenty x Puma to revolutionizing the football boots for Lukaku, James has been the torch bearer for how materiality directly influences the design of world class products. After a stint at Jaguar Land Rover being part of the revolution in luxury sustainable materials in the automotive realm, James took this to ON RUNNING and built highly successful and strategic colour and material teams across Footwear, Apparel and Accessories creation, from scratch. Sustainability and circularity is at the heart of everything he does, through the realization that ‘the most profound creations happen when you put conscious boundaries around the materials you use.

Discover James Lee Thompson’s work