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Sneak Peek alum and adidas Global Director of Entertainment and Influencer Marketing, Jon Wexler, recently sat down with Complex Magazine to discuss his rise in the ranks at the Three Stripes and his work in bringing in big time influencers to the brand. As expected, 2013 signee and eventual signature designer Kanye West was talked about, with Wex shedding some light on just how Ye’s move to adidas went down:
“We’d been in conversation for a while. Someone in his camp reached out to somebody at Reebok, who gave him my number, and we started talking. From early in our conversations it was clear that he wanted a platform to create. If you were to take what he says [during his tour speeches] and home in on those bullet points about creativity, you could tell why he had real potential at adidas. We’re going to invest in that creativity instead of limit it. During Fashion Week last September, we were launching the Jeremy Scott x A$AP Rocky collaboration and I texted Kanye, “I just landed in New York. By chance are you here?” He hit me back: “Yo, just landed. What are you doing here?” We made small talk, and at the time our CMO Hermann Deininger [who passed away in May 2014] and creative director Dirk Schonberger were in town for the Y-3 show and I said, “Hey, we’re all here. Maybe we should connect.” We met up while he was doing rehearsal for Jimmy Fallon and started to put it together. Things progressed and I remember him hitting me with a text that said, “The world changes now.” That was in November. A minute later, the signed contract came through, and we were sitting on the best-kept secret from that point on, until he mentioned it on the radio show. We issued a statement and have been in business ever since.”
He also had the following to say on Kanye’s work ethic and creative process:
“That guy is a good example of somebody who is always early. No one works harder than he does. He’s so determined to make a partnership a success, he’s constantly gathering information and speaking positively about the brand. He’s an amazing partner. He came to Germany, and has gone to the factory in China. He’s dived into understanding all aspects of what it is in the creation process and the engineering that goes into it. He’s a scientist.”
To learn more about Jon Wexler’s role at adidas and his business insights on creative partnerships, check out the interview at Complex. Peep Wex’s office in the Sneak Peek video below.
