THOUGHTS ON TASTE, TALENT AND THE FUTURE OF CULTURE.
Robbie Russell
Founder & Creative Director of Say Less
Robbie Russell has spent the last decade sitting where music, fashion and brand culture collide. From building Highsnobiety’s experiential world to launching his own studio, Say Less, his work is defined by putting creatives at the centre of the story. Our conversation touches on film, nightlife, global brands and underground scenes, but it keeps returning to the same idea — that culture moves when you trust creative people enough to let things get messy.
You call yourself a “Hired Gun” for lifestyle strategy. What does that mean?
On a personal level, I like working with brands and bringing an outside perspective into their business. As most of my time is spent working with emerging artists and record labels, I have a strong sense of upcoming trends. Music for me isn’t just a ‘pillar’ of culture, it’s a key driver also of fashion, visual trends and often actually reflects the general mood of tastemaking audiences.
So all of this informs how I can help marketers improve their cultural fluency - backing breakthrough talent and working with them in a more hands-on, creative way.
How do you keep brand stories authentic while still making them exciting?
Nowadays, the most impactful stories tend to pivot on the talent that lead the campaign. I try to disrupt the way brands think about the role talent plays in not just the output, but also the way these stories are developed. If you’re working with a creative artist who has spent years building a dedicated audience - connecting with them on an emotional level - it makes no sense to me that these individuals rarely get to input on the creative. Bring them in early, leverage the talent’s tone of voice, and the way they think about content production. Work not just with them, but the creatives that surround them.
You’ve worked with huge names like Nike, Moncler, Burberry, BMW, and Highsnobiety. Which of those collaborations stands out most to you, and why?
I was working at Highsnobiety for over 6 years and was privileged to move between different roles. I joined in 2018 and quickly became the Brand Manager, with a mandate of building experiential IP to get closer to our audiences in key cities in Europe and the US. In the pandemic I moved into a partnerships role and learnt about constructing deals and selling media, specifically in the footwear and sportswear category, before spending my last two years doing creative strategy.
The diversity of roles has given me the tools I need to operate in an improvisational, entrepreneurial way - which I really value now that I’m running my own business.
Can you share a project where you felt you really nailed that cultural sweet spot?
Reebok LTD, the first piece of which won the YDA 2025 Cannes Lion award, was a bit of a turning point for me personally. I developed the concept with my strategy colleague James Davis, with the main idea being that we would throw out the normal creative development process, and instead put the power in the hands of some of the world’s most interesting young filmmakers.
We had the sense that in a space where content comes thick and fast, brands are too focused on building a ‘safe’ creative context in which their key product lives within. It’s always a tagline, a specific aesthetic and shooting style, and then a talent. Basically a variation on the same theme.
So we thought, what if instead of thinking product first, with think story-first, and put Reebok in the position of patron - using their production budget to empower young filmmakers to tell real human-interest stories from the places they live in. The only condition is that the story must be connected to the idea of movement, subjects of the film would wear new Reebok LTD product, and nothing illegal would happen on camera.
The first short film ‘New Cavaliers’ was shot in Morocco by Otman Qrita, and was so well received locally, as well as globally, that we got a report back that the King of Morocco was so hyped that he visited his local Reebok store to get a pair of the shorts featured in the video.
" Nowadays, the most impactful stories tend to pivot on the talent that lead the campaign. I try to disrupt the way brands think about the role talent plays in not just the output, but also the way these stories are developed "
With Moncler’s Studio Ascenti, what were the biggest lessons you took away from those activitions in Milan and Paris?
This was another activation where we wanted to focus not on the scripting and the producing a story, but rather building a creative environment where talent we curate and recruit can make something themselves in real time. It meant that the first people to see the new footwear collection were photographers, stylists, filmmakers, visual artists, dancers and experimental musicians.
They came together in deeply immersive spaces, got hands-on with the product, the materials and the inspiration behind the design, and then worked with each other - in that space - to produce their own content concepts in real time.
It really worked, but of course when working with a big corporation, there's still a certain amount of risk management and structural priorities that need to be respected. It’s going to take a while before brands feel confident enough not to know in advance exactly where their money is going, and how the output will look - especially in an era when AI can create perfect mock-ups.
Highsnobiety Soundsystem brought an online brand into real-world events. What worked best in making that shift?
With Soundsystem, we moved in early in realising that at big tentpole moments like Salone in Milan and Paris Fashion Week, the afterparties were starting to become more interesting and in-demand than the shows themselves. Yet at that point, they were still very exclusive and access was limited to industry people and influencers.
We wanted to blend a bit of that with a place that fans of the scene could get access to. Local Parisian Highsnobiety readers, or people that are visiting Salone maybe to soak up the vibe. Industry insiders are obviously important, but they’d be nothing without the most passionate fans that support them and drive online conversation.
During lockdown, you launched hybrid projects like Semi-Permanent Hotel. What made those work, and which ideas would you carry forward now?
Our partners in Sydney at Semi Permanent were planning a big multi-room lifestyle exhibition, and we saw an opportunity to invite the world to be part of it remotely during the pandemic. We were able to bring in Polestar and develop ideas for them as a key sponsor, and then generate a digital environment for an immersive IRL / URL experience.
Sydney at the time was a city with much more freedom - with it being their summer and COVID numbers being relatively low. We managed to pull that one off, but also had a few projects that didn’t make it into the world - like an online rave in Unreal Engine. Everyone is seeing now how consumers are spending way more on experiences than they are on physical goods, and so disruptive ways of creating offline moments with a legacy - alongside different access points for global audiences - are going to become more and more important.
With over a decade of experience creating high-impact brand moments, what do you think makes a collaboration truly successful?
One thing I’ve learned is that the best collaboration in the world is going to fall on deaf ears if it’s not activated properly. Roll-outs can sometimes be an afterthought, but you’ve got to be super tight on where the thing is landing, and why audiences would be incentivised to show up and talk about it.
Why did you decide to launch ‘Say Less’, and how is it different from a typical agency?
The idea for Say Less actually came before the pandemic when I was working at Highsnobiety. I was looking at how we could open up new business from working with major record labels, and developed a concept for what was effectively an enhanced artist services unit.
With the changing new media landscape, over time it has become really difficult for brands and publishers to guarantee organic engagement and awareness for the content they put out. Meta and Google effectively switch tactic to strong arm them into buying engagement.
But, individual talents are a protected class, because they bring people to these social platforms. Their media retains its value. So my co-founder George and I thought, what if we launch an agency that doesn’t have a set structure, but instead signs interesting, creative artists with something to say, connects them to brands, and then acts effectively a ‘pop-up’ agency around the talent.
Our Makko x Converse x Snipes is the best example of this, as we were able to develop a full product launch campaign from end to end, around one of our artists, leveraging his friends, his creative vision and collaborators, along with his tone of voice for the production. The outcome was a multimedia campaign that felt completely true to his work, and therefore massively resonated with the audience he worked so hard to build.
" One thing I’ve learned is that the best collaboration in the world is going to fall on deaf ears if it’s not activated properly.
Roll-outs can sometimes be an afterthought, but you’ve got to be super tight on where the thing is landing "
Since going independent, what’s been the biggest surprise for you?
Doors open if you knock hard enough, and it’s all about perception. We’re a small team, but we talk big and have enough trusted people all over the world to be as big or small as we need to be. Our diminutive size is our biggest strength because we can be agile, and offer creative or strategic solutions that are truly bespoke. We don’t have a set structure or way of working - which can be chaotic, but creativity often thrives in chaos.
When you’re curating talent, what qualities matter most to you?
We’re actually working on a research paper at the moment to try and better define taste - because it’s esoteric and hard to nail down. It’s a feeling that you have that goes beyond metrics like reach and engagement. How much depth is there to what this person is making? What are their artistic motivations and intentions? How does what they do crossover into other fields of interest like sport or gastronomy?
As I said before, music isn’t a pillar, it’s a universal element that sits across all facets of cultural storytelling - no matter the theme or subject. And it is that way because it goes beyond the superficial to connect with people on a deeper, more emotional level. This is what I look for, because that’s how authenticity is preserved.
You started out as a DJ and journalist. How has this background shaped the way you work?
My early years were mainly spent profiling artists of all sizes for different magazines, like JuiceWRLD for example, just before his tragic passing. Spending time with emerging talent like this, who have this intrinsic urge to make art and share it with the world, gave me a different perspective on the role that these people play in culture. They’re not just figureheads, they’re reflections of our time, embodiments of the zeitgeist. If you’re using them as mannequins, you’re missing out on their true potential. How do they see the world? Why do audiences love them? How can brands learn from that to behave less like corporations, and more like true contributors to culture.
Moving from Leeds to Berlin must have been a shift. How has Berlin influenced your outlook on culture and creativity?
Berlin is a pretty unique mix of a hectic, frenetic alternative scene, alongside classic German rigidity - and often the two things are at odds with one another. But when you strike the balance, really fascinating things can happen. It’s the perfect city in which to experiment and take risks, and redefine yourself and your approach without judgement.
Finally… Where is your SOMEWHERE GOOD?
My best ideas seem to come when I’m on planes or trains. I need movement and new experiences, and every place has its beauty. My SOMEWHERE GOOD is probably the journey itself.
Credits.
Highsnobiety Soundsytem (2019)
A Semi Permanent Hotel by Highsnobiety (2021)
Robbie and Braths (2025)
Words. Mick Wilson
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