Adidas announced a new creative studio coming to Brooklyn in New York in 2015 that will drive design direction for the brand and elevate the companys direct interaction with consumers. As part of the studio, Adidas has hired away three Nike footwear designers: Denis Dekovic, Marc Dolce and Mark Miner.
Adidas said Dekovic has 20 years of footwear design experience across soccer,
womens, snowboarding, basketball and tennis; Dolce is a 20-year
veteran of the footwear design industry with experience across
basketball, training, running, womens and lifestyle; and Miner is
a footwear designer with experience in running, womens and basketball.
Dekovic was Nike Football Design Director, responsible for the Nike Magista. Sneaker blogs also credit him for developing the Mercurial 9, the Tiempo 5 and the Hypervenom soccer shoes. Marc Dolce was the NSW design director responsible for reviving the Penny line. He has also earned credit for working on the Lunar Force 1, a limited edition of the Air Force 1. Miner was a senior footwear designer who worked on the Nike Free.
The three designers will join Adidas next year to
lead the creative studio and manage a small team of cross-discipline
creatives. Overall, the global studio will serve as a cultural contact point in the most influential city in the U.S., connecting the brand closely with sports and street culture.
The Brooklyn Creative Studio will be a small but essential operation aimed at exploring design direction for the brand. This facility will be an open source creative center allowing us to connect and collaborate with consumers in a way weve never done before, said Paul Gaudio, Adidas global creative director.
Speaking to oregonlive.com, Maria Culp, a spokeswoman for Adidas America, said the Brooklyn studio would not downplay design functions in Portland, OR.
“The new Creative Studio in Brooklyn will explore creative direction and design language for the brand,” Culp said in a statement. “The Brooklyn studio will be a great addition to the already talented creative team members we have in Portland, Germany and across the brand. It will be a key collaboration center that all of our creation teams will have access to. The Portland creation center remains the home of Paul Gaudio (global creative director), global basketball design and design teams across football, baseball, running, training and lifestyle.”
Sneakerblog reports noted that the hirings build on the additions of Kanye West, Pharrell, and top NBA pick Andrew Wiggins to support Adidas efforts.
