adidas's Brooklyn Creator Farm resides in a fairly secret warehouse location in Greenpoint. There you will find a relatively small conglomerate of designers from all across the globe, whose job is to "create culture," according to Marc Dolce, VP and creative director at adidas.
The space is designated by two sections: the designer's area and adidas's Brooklyn MakerLab, the latter of which is just one of three within the adidas universe. The MakerLab also calls home to virtually all of the machinery and materials needed to make any sneaker or apparel item the designers please. Per the manager of the lab, Michael Nash, it's basically "Disneyland for designers."
Step on over to the designer's side and you will see numerous idea boards and other items that are meant to inspire. Filled with full-time designers as well as rotating classes of adidas designers, once an individual's time at the Farm has come to an end, they then return their home studios in Germany or Portland, Oregon, ultimately taking with them the valuable lessons and tools picked up from the Brooklyn location.
adidas Global Creative Director Paul Gaudio insists the Brooklyn Creator Farm isn't your average design studio. "It's meant to be a little provocative," Gaudio said. "It's where we cultivate talent."
You will also find that specific design demands aren't placed on the Farm employees. "It's more about exploration," Gaudio stated. "The obsession with progress is what this place is about — not the obsession with results."
He then went on to add, "People don't buy sports products ... just because they need a new pair of shoes. They want a new pair of shoes. You need to be able to blend those cultural insights and desires with the purpose of the product, the functional needs. That's the kind of thing we explore here."
The Farm also places a focus on being more in touch with its consumers' needs and desires. "In the end, it's very much a brand statement," Gaudio noted. "It's who we are; It's who we want to be. It's so deeply connected to that strategy of understanding where culture happens. New York City is the place."
For a look inside adidas's Brooklyn Creator Farm, click through the imagery above.