Cannes 2010: "adidas moving from being functional to stylish": Torsten Hochstetter

afaqs! caught up with Torsten Hochstetter, head of adidas design studio, at Cannes. In a free- wheeling interview, he speaks about how adidas design is going the global way

Torsten Hochstetter, creative director, sport performance/ sport style global marketing/ global design, adidas was at Cannes. afaqs! caught up with this hotshot sports designer to find out more about the changing face of adidas design.

afaqs!: Adidas, as a brand, caters to around 45 categories across continents. How do you maintain the sanctity of the brand, while designing specific products for different markets?

Hochstetter: It's a very big challenge to maintain the brand's DNA, though we have certain mechanisms to guarantee that. We have a brand booklet that explains the brand's DNA and its values, which are very much rooted in the company.

These values are being exported as well. I worked in Japan for three years, building a design team for the company. It was interesting to see the Japanese culture, where the same values were interpreted by their own means. And you automatically end up with a different type of product. Sports, to them, is different; so is authenticity. But at the same time, if we keep close to the values, the end product will be truly adidas.

Beyond that, on the practical side, for example, we have a colour card that is the same for designers globally. It is retained for one specific season, though it has input from various local markets.

For example, if we get colour inputs from India, and we believe that they are important for our market, we would include them as well. There is a dedicated team for this, which just consolidates the inputs, and then decides the constant and variable colour card for the particular season.

So, the colour card stays the same, the branding stays the same, the trademark stays the same; and most importantly, the values stays the same.

afaqs!: What was the important learning from the design studio in Japan? It must have given you a broad idea of the Asian market.

Hochstetter: We learnt a lot from Asia. What we noticed is that the Asians are so much more adamant and particular about certain needs and wishes, when it comes to materials, colours or workmanship. It is so much more quality that Europe and the US can never deliver.

We had to make sure that we are stepping up a notch on quality and understanding of the real needs of the Asian consumer.

I admire that a lot. I love Asia from the bottom of my heart. Therefore to me, it is extremely inspiring, and it is just as inspiring for the rest of the brand. It is fantastic what the Japanese design team comes up with.

afaqs!: Does the functionality of the product sometimes supersede the look and style? Or is it vice-versa?

Hochstetter: People don't just want to have the best football boots or the best football jersey. It goes beyond that. It has to be aesthetically nice also. We look into the trends world. We take inspiration from the fashion world, industrial design, and even the advertising world.

We pool that in to make sure that we are not only focusing on the athletes, because that would be a short-sighted deal. It has to go beyond that.

So, aesthetics plays a much more important role than it did in the past. Especially for a sports brand, it becomes important that we do not look old; we catch up and be a little stylish as well.

I believe that the customer really wants to look at the heart and soul of the product. Does the product live? Does the product come to life when you wear it? When you wear the product, do you feel empowered? I believe all these things come into play.

Therefore, it is beyond functionality; and yes, aesthetics play a major role as well.

afaqs!: What inspiration have you drawn from other sectors, and how have you incorporated that in your footwear?

Hochstetter: Footwear is an important keyword. In the past, we have focused a lot on making the football boot functional. I think automotive design has inspired us to make sure that the boot also looks fast, light and dynamic. A lot of design lines in the new shoes could almost be on an automobile, a speedy car. It's like if the Ferrari would turn into a shoe, what it would look like.

adidas, which otherwise has a very traditional route, is luckily becoming more open now. We are also open to having new design approaches.

It is a very individual thing, and every designer takes inspiration from a different world. A lot of young designers are very inspired by the music scene and culture. That is very much linked to fashion, especially to our young consumers.

Similarly, architecture is very important. The approach to space is interesting, because a garment or shoe is also space, a three-dimensional thing.

It's something I look at all the time. I would want to know what's happening on the art scene. It is extremely inspirational, because it is outside my discipline; but I can bring it back.

afaqs!: Is there any 'universal design', which cuts across all markets?

Hochstetter: I think what is universal about design is that every designer is trying to make the world a better place.

The market is not homogenous. I believe in localization very much. Especially as a global brand, you cannot move ahead believing that the Indian consumer is the same as the Japanese or American or the Central European consumer.

Yes, we share a lot of global things; but at the end of the day, luckily, we live in a very local way. And it is beautiful, because that is where the interest in different ways of life, food or language defines one nationality or culture.

For me, it's important to understand the local culture in order to execute for the local customers.

afaqs!: So, the philosophy of the design could be universal; but it has to be adapted to local markets?

Hochstetter: That is correct. You cannot say that this is the product that sells everywhere. It is not a very in-depth thought; and I do not think that is how a universal, global brand should work.

There only universal ideas are peace, happiness and diversity in a positive way.

afaqs!: Does the legacy or tradition of the brand come in the way of being innovative?

Hochstetter: Yes! Adolf Dassler, the founder of the brand was a shoemaker. He really made shoes. It was his idea back in the 1920s to make some sports shoes. No one did that before. He started in the '30s, making shoes for Jesse Owens.

That is the root of the brand - to make functional items that would help the athlete to perform better. That was the first idea of adidas as a brand.

Step by step, we branched out, but kept bringing back the classic shoe styles and Originals every season in a new way.

afaqs!: Does it ever happen that while the idea might seem great; it might not be what the brand stands for, and hence cannot be implemented?

Hochstetter: It happens sometimes, but it is not very relevant. We have something called the 'visual language', which visually defines what adidas stands for. And only what is part of that can enter the adidas collection.

Sometimes, it is hard to decide what exactly to exclude and what to consolidate.

afaqs!: Are there any designs especially for the Indian market?

Hochstetter: Right now, we are doing for Asia; and we have the design teams for Asia out of Japan and Shanghai. But we have clearly identified internally that India is going to be extremely important for us in the future. More and more people are doing sports in India. The ability is there, and the possibilities are getting stronger. Also, economically, India is coming up very strongly.

As a brand, we identify this. In the near future, there will be steps that will take the Indian market much more into consideration in a more direct manner, as we have done with Japan. There will be insights taken from India.

afaqs!: Do you consider insights that you get from social media?

Hochstetter: In reality, it is another piece of puzzle that fits into the overall organisation of our work. We have the trend research; we have the marketing review; the feedback from sales floors; and nowadays, we also need to include the direct feedback that we get from our customers through social media.

So, it's just another piece of puzzle that we need to consider to build a successful collection. It forces you to stay connected even more nowadays than ever before.

afaqs!: Has the acceptability of global designs gone up because of the media explosion?

Hochstetter: Yes, definitely. However, at the same time, an Indian consumer might not just swallow the trend in Europe for all the right reasons. You cannot just go ahead and push it on the market. You have to be more sensible and more sensitive.

What is important is that the global attributes and the DNA of the brand remain the same; but 'authentic' has a different meaning in Japan than it has in Europe.

afaqs!: What do you look for in a person, whom you would consider hiring in the adidas design team?

Hochstetter: I have been working with adidas for 15 years now. I started in a team of 15 designers and now we have 150 globally. A lot of change has happened.

During the course of that time, I feel very secure about what the brand is about; what it stands for. I can read those values relatively quickly in somebody who applies for the design team.

Is the person committed? Is the person interested in sports? Does the person bring diversity to the team? Does the person have a passion for design and aesthetics? Those are the attributes that I can identify pretty quickly about a person.

Beyond that, especially for our Originals collection, it is very important for a person to be in tune with the street and the sports culture that we want to cater to. Does the person really understand how our consumers tick?

It is not just creativity; but all the points I have mentioned that need to be part of the personality.

afaqs!: How has adidas evolved over the years in terms of design?

Hochstetter: We have become more global. With global, I, of course mean local. We understand Asia better than we did in the past. We need to go much more in-depth, of course.

It is a bigger ship now than it used to be. It feels like a much more globalised and professional big company.

In terms of design, it has become much more complex. Not only because we are catering to a wider, global market; but beyond that, we've also stretched the brand. It goes beyond just football boots and Originals. We have widened the brand towards new customers and become relevant to more people. That brought about a new level of complexity to the picture.

afaqs!: Has the overall lifespan of design become shorter in recent years?

Hochstetter: The percentage of carry over models is much smaller than it used to be. We are looking at creating a new range more often.

Every new season, we have a new collection. It has to be drawn, realigned and reworked all over again.

Yes, there are aspects and ingredients within the process, which are the same. For example, you could have a basic T-shirt. It might have another colour for a particular season; but in the development sheet, it is still the same. So, it depends on how you define a carry over.

But overall, things are changing much quicker than they ever did in the past.

afaqs!: How do you cope with the challenge of creating something new, across such a wide category, every new season?

Hochstetter: You just have to be on your toes. You have to make sure that you cover the needs; and you have the right design team on-board with the right diversity and attitude.

afaqs!: Can tie-ups such as adidas Porsche design be extended to other categories as well? You are sure to find other brands that fit with the adidas consumer. Are you looking for such collaborations?

Hochstetter: That is a major strategic decision that would be made by the leadership. But I am very sure that there would be other brands that would fit with the core adidas culture.

On the other hand, I feel that collaborations have been overdone; and I say that not just for adidas, but on a global level. It seemed to be the hot thing for a while; but we have to be careful, keep the consumer in mind. Let us be true to what we are doing.

The danger is that you dilute the brand message for that. And then you don't stay true to what you are. We have to make sure that we focus our energy doing what is right for us. One has to know strategically when it is enough. It has to make sense; else, I think it is plain hype.

Consumers nowadays are extremely savvy and are much more informed. Whatever story you tell, it has to be right; it has to be a true story.