FIT DTech Lab × UGG × AMBUSH Product Activation and Fireside chat
The Fashion Institute of Technology partnered with UGG and Tokyo-based label AMBUSH for the Spring/Summer 2025 season to explore the intersection of heritage craftsmanship and contemporary fashion.
The collaboration featured a Product Activation Campaign, in which FIT advertising and digital design students worked in four teams to develop original campaign concepts, and a Fireside Chat, where students engaged directly with Yoon Ahn the co-founder and creative director of AMBUSH, to learn about design inspiration, brand storytelling, and creative strategy.
AMBUSH is a Tokyo-based fashion label founded by Yoon Ahn, who is an influential designer known for bold, experimental, and streetwear-inflected fashion. Yoon originally started in jewelry design and has collaborated with major brands including Nike and Dior before expanding AMBUSH into clothing and footwear. The brand is known for pushing traditional fashion boundaries with unique silhouettes, playful details, and strong visual identity.
Putting UGG and Ambush together creates products that are comfortable but also fashion-forward - not just cozy slippers but statement pieces.
Fur-forward & Bold Styles
This collaboration elevates UGG from cozy staple to fashion collectible by combining AMBUSH’s bold, runway-influenced design vision with UGG’s heritage materials and craftsmanship. It’s the creative reinterpretation and striking visuals — the fuzzy heels, oversized shearling, playful silhouettes — that have made this collab a talking point in contemporary fashion.
Product Activation Campaign
As part of the Fashion Institute of Technology × UGG × AMBUSH Spring/Summer 2025 collaboration, students participated in a Product Activation Campaign developed through the FIT DTech Lab. The experience included a fireside chat with industry leaders followed by a collaborative campaign ideation workshop, offering students direct insight into brand storytelling, design strategy, and creative innovation. Working in four interdisciplinary teams, students presented original activation concepts that reflected thoughtful research, cultural relevance, and experimental thinking. The collaboration exemplified DTech Lab’s mission to connect students with industry partners through hands-on, real-world learning opportunities.
The Lab hosted a special conversation event titled “A Fireside Chat with Yoon of AMBUSH and UGG”, where Yoon Ahn, co-founder and creative director of AMBUSH, discussed her UGG × AMBUSH collaboration, a fashion project that reimagines classic UGG footwear silhouettes with AMBUSH’s bold, contemporary aesthetic. The talk focused on design inspiration, creative philosophy, and how classic styles can be updated for new generations. The collaboration itself blends UGG’s heritage comfort with AMBUSH’s experimental, fashion-forward approach.
FIT students were invited to attend the conversation with Yoon Ahn. Attendance offered students a chance to directly hear from AMBUSH’s creative director, ask questions, and learn how a high-profile collaboration comes together in the fashion industry.
TEam MEmbers
Ambush Yoon Ahn, co-founder and creative director
UGG
FIT Creative Technology & Design Christie Shin, Faculty C.J. Yeh, Faculty Jessica Ye Shalika Thappali Thalia Merino Pricilla Ghaznavi Elias Cherrier-Vickers Yoonseo (Cloe) Jeong Jacqueline G. Sidney Gagneron Cecilia Garcia Pizales Jessie Huang Kate Schatz Elizabeth Ellis
