YEEZY’s Former Head Of Innovation Lab Launches His Own Sneaker Production Firm
Following Kanye West’s divorce with Adidas, it seems some of the key minds behind the YEEZY brand’s success has branched out on their own.
According to Footwear News, former Head of the YEEZY Innovation Lab Omar Bailey and his partner Abhishek Som have recently opened the doors to a new sneaker production company called FCTRY LAb.
It seems the firm is off to a promising start, having raised US$6 million in a round of funding from venture capitalists, professional athletes, and other angel investors. Bailey said the money will first be used to complete building the brand’s lab in Los Angeles, slated to open next month.
Likening it to a “lounge meets lab meets Apple store,” the designer says the output will be unlike other factories, and it will instead be a “cool space” where creatives can both gather to “hang out as well as work.”
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The company hopes to democratize sneaker production and open-source innovation for both emerging and established designers, giving the opportunity to brands that may not have the same market share as the bigger names in the business.
Designers can work with the duo for “full end-to-end footwear prototyping and development” right in the United States, which involves everything from the development of a shoe to 3D printing, pattern making, and injection molding all in one place.
By being based locally, sneaker brands could avoid the risks of delays in overseas shipping, minimizing the traditional time frame of production from eight to 12 months down to an incredibly speedy one to three months, says Bailey.
Perhaps FCTRY LAb could soon be the place from where the next YEEZY emerges.
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[via Hypebeast and Footwear News, cover image via FCTRY LAb]
