Former Nike Designer Marc Dolce Has Officially Joined Adidas

Three former Nike designers made headlines in late 2014 when they defected that September to join Adidas, which resulted in a hefty lawsuit from the Beaverton, Ore.-based athletic giant. More than a year later, one of the designers took to social media to show he’s now officially part of the Adidas team.

Marc Dolce, VP and creative director at Adidas, has posted a photo on Instagram of what appears to be his employee card, along with the cards of Denis Dekovic and Mark Miner, the two other former Nike designers named in the lawsuit.

“We are inspired, honored and excited to be a part of the amazing Adidas family,” Dolce wrote in the photo’s caption.

View this post on Instagram

• We are inspired, honored and excited to be a part of the amazing adidas FAMILY. During the past year, we've witnessed an incredible transformation which made adidas the brand of choice for today's youth. This transformation was enabled by: /// New partnerships and collaborations with creators like Kanye West and Pharrell Williams. /// Industry defining performance innovation products that captured the hearts and minds of the modern youth. /// Cultural shift to being an open source brand, which through the creation filter of Futurecraft enabled great concepts to allow everyone to take a sneak peak into the future. We've all seen it — the future is bright! The amazing teams in Herzo, Portland and all across the organization have played pivotal roles in this transformation. You've earned the tremendous respect and admiration for the work that you're doing. The success that you've generated creates the unprecedented opportunity to truly become the world's BEST sport company. This opportunity demands that we do our best work ahead — and together, we will!

A post shared by Marc Dolce (@marcdolce) on Mar 30, 2016 at 3:21pm PDT

Dolce, Dekovic and Miner will be working out of Adidas’ new Brooklyn Creators Farm, the brand’s New York-based creative studio built to help it become a U.S.-friendly brand and further explore design direction. Currently, the three designers are working from various Adidas design hubs around the world.

“The core of creativity comes from collaboration. Collaborative thinking and exploration is leading us to new places,” Paul Gaudio, global creative director of Adidas, said in a statement released today. “A mix of perspectives and constant exchange allows us to tap into the unknown and explore new territories. We are fostering and growing design talent across the company, and we couldn’t be more excited about where we’re headed.”

Nike filed the lawsuit on Dec. 9, 2014, against the three designers, alleging they stole trade secrets and started working with Adidas to re-create Nike’s Innovation Kitchen – the brand’s testing lab where it develops products well before they hit the market – while still employed at The Swoosh. (The lawsuit was settled in June 2015; terms were not disclosed.)

“The success that you’ve generated creates the unprecedented opportunity to truly become the world’s best sport company,” Dolce continued in the caption on his Instagram post. “This opportunity demands that we do our best work ahead — and together, we will!”

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