Milwaukee-based Harley-Davidson Inc. has made two hires aimed at growing the company’s brand around the world.
Erica Bullard will be senior vice president of apparel and licensing and Louise Goldin will be creative director. Harley is also renaming its general merchandise function as apparel and licensing.
The company said the newly created function will leverage a newly opened creative studio in Tribeca, New York City along with its existing design studio and archive in Milwaukee.
Bullard comes to Harley after more than two decades with Nike, including most recently as vice president and general manager of Nike NYC and the East.
“Erica brings decades of experience from within the apparel industry, with a demonstrable track record of leading and growing businesses and strategic regions,” said Jochen Zeitz, chairman and chief executive officer of Harley.
Bullard will report to Zeitz and lead the company’s global apparel and licensing business.
“There are few brands as iconic as Harley-Davidson, a brand built on a unique combination of authenticity, adventure and self-expression. I am excited to extend the brand through apparel and invite new and existing consumers around the globe to the Harley-Davidson community,” Bullard said.
Goldin, a British-born designer who has helped shape global lifestyle brands, including Kanye West’s Yeezy shoes, in the U.S. and Europe for more than a decade, will head the new studio and design teams in New York and Milwaukee, “bringing her expertise in applying advanced technology and functionality to the intersection of modern lifestyle design and fit-for-purpose apparel at Harley-Davidson,” the company said in a press release.
“Louise is a true creative with a proven track record in designing and building some of the world’s most desirable brands. I’m excited to see Louise’s creative interpretation of Harley-Davidson’s apparel heritage” Zeitz said.
Goldin said she feels “a deep connection between Harley-Davidson’s design language and my own DNA as a designer.”
“I’m inspired by the unique combination of engineering, functionality, craftsmanship and soul that lies at the heart of Harley’s iconic heritage and brand aesthetic,” Goldin said. “My goal is to work that spirit and purpose into new pieces that will carry the brand forward into the future.”
