image via FastCoDesign

Brash. Opinionated. Egotistical. Atonal. Polarizing. Irresistible. It’s how people describe Kanye West. It’s also how you'd describe American culture.And Adidas, the German-run athletic wear company known for its bland European appeal, is refocusing its efforts through the lens of all things American. For good reason: Between 2013 and 2014, Adidas lost a frightening 7% of the U.S. marketshare. In the past year, Adidas has shown off a mega-hyped new line of apparel in conjunction with West, and has poached three top designers from Nike here in the U.S. (Nike later sued those designers in a dramatic lawsuit alleging intellectual property theft.) Adidas has also made some quieter changes, migrating its central design hub from the sleepy town of Herzogenaurach, Germany, to hip Portland, Oregon, a mecca of sneaker culture, and restructuring its studios to give designers more autonomy to chase trends that set the stage for the company's next act. In short, Adidas wants to be less Karim Benzema, more Kanye West.......Continue Reading

> via fastcompany.com