From the release:

Studio Private’s latest signing brings acclaimed immersive director Stephen Whelan onto its roster, an established creative force working at the intersection of motion design, immersive media, and luxury storytelling. With over 15 years of experience, Whelan has a distinct ability to transform brand narratives into dynamic, unforgettable environments, where film, style, interaction and live experiences converge, bringing new possibilities for connection and culture.

Whelan’s practice sits at the frontier of fashion and luxury. Merging architectural-scale design with cutting-edge technology, he builds multi-sensory experiences that reflect and elevate each brand’s unique identity. His recent work with adidas, for example, set a new industry benchmark. The ADIZERO Adios Pro Evo 2 global launch in London, staged with Studio Private and M&C Saatchi Sport & Entertainment, turned into an immersive brand world, blending Unreal Engine interactivity, large-format motion content, and live music performances. The result: a four-day cultural activation that bridged elite sport, design, and community at the London Marathon, and signaled the next chapter of experiential fashion-luxury storytelling.

“The thing I find most exciting about immersive brand experiences is the inversion of the traditional power hierarchy that exists in advertising. Interruptive brand communications basically assert “we have enough money to interrupt the thing you love doing to force you to look at something, like it or not”. Experiential projects challenge brands to earn the physical engagement of audiences in a much more equitable and culturally compelling way. Nowhere is this more true than with fashion and luxury brands, where genuine artistry and progressive narratives are open to exploration. I look forward to venturing further into this territory with the team at Studio Private.” – Stephen Whelan, Immersive Creative Director

Stephen brings an equally impressive body of work across music, athleisure, fashion and luxury. From reimagining Charli XCX’s iconic Vroom Vroom aesthetic, a genre-defining pop moment where he led visual direction, styling, and aesthetic strategy that drew on LaChapelle, Hype Williams, and gender-fluid internet culture, to experiential brand environments for Under Armour, Issey Miyake and Guiness. Whelan has consistently pushed boundaries while delivering memorable, press-worthy activations.

For Under Armour, he directed the design and aesthetic of the Next Academy at Battersea Power Station, an experiential hub unveiled by Anthony Joshua to inspire the next generation of athletes. For Ariana Grande’s Dangerous Woman Diaries, he developed a social-first fan experience encompassing a digital easter egg hunt across the artist’s socials and geotagged OOO that unlocked access to exclusive same-day merch delivery. His role on Sir Elton John’s The Cut included producing a global competition and branded content series, Cannes Lions-nominated, which invited emerging creatives to reinterpret the icon’s most timeless songs.

This ability to merge pop culture fluency with architectural precision has made him a trusted collaborator for luxury and fashion brands, including Moncler, Dom Pérignon, Gucci, and Issey Miyake, as well as cultural tastemakers across music and sport.

At Studio Private, Whelan will expand the studio’s future-facing offering in fashion and luxury on a global scale, creating immersive ecosystems that move beyond stills and video to deliver experiential impact. His appointment comes as brands increasingly demand integrated, tech-powered campaigns that resonate across fragmented platforms.

“Stephen is a rare creative talent, equal parts visionary and practitioner. His work embodies the future of fashion-luxury media: immersive, interactive, and emotionally resonant. We’re thrilled to welcome him into Studio Private, where his expertise in world-building and experiential design will amplify the way we collaborate with global brands and cultural icons.” – Bianca Redgrave, Managing Director of Studio Private
About Stephen Whelan

With more than 15 years’ experience, Stephen Whelan has built a career at the frontier of immersive storytelling, spanning fashion, athleisure, music, and luxury. He has held senior roles across both global networks and independent studios, as well as working with YouTube in Los Angeles and Universal Music Group for Brands in London, where he developed entertainment marketing and artist collaborations. His practice combines cultural insight, trend-spotting, and data-driven strategy with a strong belief in creative technology as a catalyst for deeper audience connection.

Whelan’s portfolio extends across brand, live, and editorial spaces, with collaborations for Gucci, Moncler, Dom Pérignon, Coca-Cola, Fiat, Issey Miyake, and Google, alongside work featured in Nowness, Wallpaper, and Fantastic Man. This cross-disciplinary foundation informs his ability to design immersive, tech-powered environments that reflect a brand’s identity while pushing the boundaries of how audiences experience fashion, music, and culture today.