[Dive #12] RTFKT x Nike
There are a handful of brands that could cause a campout before a release: Apple, the Retail industry during Black Friday, Star Wars movies.
And…
Nike is one of the revered brands in retail. They’ve mastered the art of hype and cool while elevating sport and respecting the culture.
I think we’re at least somewhat familiar with Nike and what they do, so this is a sufficient intro.
So…what does Nike have to do with RTFKT (how the hell do you even pronounce that) and what does this weekend’s past events mean for the NFTs and digital fashion?
I won’t be able to go through all the details, but I hope to break this down in a way where we understand what happened, why, and where Nike x RTFKT are headed.
Nike
Let’s start with Nike’s history with NFTs.
Nike NFTs TPan?! Hear me out.
Nike launched the Nike ID product in 1999 where users could choose between 82 different materials and 31 customizable parts for their Nike Air Force One silhouette.
23 years later, Nike ID (now called Nike By You) is still going strong.
This is what I mean by ‘Nike’s history with NFTs’. No, they aren’t on chain, no they aren’t truly unique but they have the spirit of the ‘non-fungible' aspect. A sense of ‘What I create is uniquely mine.’
Great, so giving Nike fans a Build-a-Bear factory to create their own sneakers.
Oh you thought this would only be for the physical world? Let’s fast forward to 2018.
Nike was thinking about NFTs almost as early as the OGs. Can you imagine being ‘that crazy crypto guy’ in the meeting room? I hope s/he has gotten a big raise.
The fact that the initial submission of the patent was in December 2018 means that the internal discussions and conception of the ideas were happening several months prior.
But how was Nike going to make their approved patent a reality?
Build their own team from the ground up? Create their own blockchain or token? Incubate their own startup accelerator to design digital sneakers?
Enter RTFKT.
RTFKT
Btw, It’s pronounced ‘artifact’ :)
Since its inception in early 2020, RTFKT has focused on creating high quality digital collectibles for the metaverse.
My first exposure to RTFKT was in May 2021 when they had their Meta-Pigeon drop.
I was unfortunately too slow to purchase the $1 meta-pigeons and I didn’t want to spend $500 or $2,021 for digital sneakers, so I passed. That was a bad decision. Respectively, they cost $15,000 $12,000 and $24,000 today. This does not include the price of the physical sneaker you got if you purchased the digital versions nor the airdrops that came afterwards…
What caught my eye was not only the $1 price point (what can I say? I’m a sucker for good deals!!) but the fact that the Meta-Pigeon drop was a collaboration with Jeff Staple.
Jeff Staple is most famous for his Nike Dunk collaboration, the Pigeon Dunk. The origin story for these sneakers are steeped in Nike lore and the price reflects that.
At this time I was still busy staring at the value of my Topshot moments dropping. Silly me.
The RTFKT name kept popping up.
A collaboration with Fewocious, a prolific teenage artist.
A special digital + physical sneaker drop for Cryptopunks holders.
The momentum for RTFKT continued to grow: More collaborations, the high bar for quality and design, the streetwear angle, and the incorporation of the physical along with the digital.
And on December 13, 2021, things really started to get 🌶 🥵
The Acquisition
As a Nike fan, I still get chills watching this.
This was not just big news in the NFT space, this was big news in retail, fashion, and business. Due to the nascency of the space, the broader public may have just read the headline and moved on with their day (NFTs are a scam, remember?). But in my opinion, this business decision will cement Nike’s dominance for the rest of the decade.
Let’s recap some overlapping points I’ve brought up about both brands.
This was an acquisition that the NFT space could get behind, and they showed their approval by voting with their dollars ETH. The value of RTFKT NFTs rose dramatically, particularly with the Clone X collection.
MNLTH
Ok Thomas so what? You wasted another 10 minutes of my life.
Context, dear reader!
On February 5th, 2022 RTFKT dropped every Clone X holder a box, the MNLTH (monolith).
The biggest takeaway for me besides that they did a brilliant job keeping the community engaged for months (kudos to them for all their creative challenges and puzzles over the course of 10 weeks) was…the LOGO of course!
This is the first Nike-branded NFT.
And last Friday, these boxes were finally revealed.
If you want to see the reveal experience, check it out here! Unfortunately video uploads are in beta and I don’t have access (aka I’m a loser).
For those that think I sent you a phishing link, here’s a peek of the experience.
What’s next?
RTFKT’s video introduction of RTFKT Nike CryptoKicks provide an overview of the vision that is being built out.
To summarize what’s going on here, I’m going to focus on the script of the video.
"Starting with the Nike RTFKT Nike Dunk Genesis” - Nike ID started with the Air Force one and expanded to other sneaker models. RTFKT is starting with the Dunk and will expand as well.
“Powered by Dream OS and Skin Vial Tech” - There is foundational technology being built that may be used within the Nike/RTFKT ecosystem, and possibly beyond? And skins are equivalent to the concept of colorways with sneakers. ‘Skin’ is also a common term in gaming to customize your character to make it more unique.
“Collect, evolve, and breed sneaker skins” - Collecting is an activity that sneaker fans are familiar with. But evolving and breeding allow for creativity on a whole different level.
“Created by legendary collaborators, artists, and the RTFKT community” - Nike has been the torch bearer of the collaboration concept for decades. Now their collaborators can collaborate with Nike’s physical products, but also RTFKT’s digital products as well, allowing for a whole different range of design concepts to come to life that may have been previously limited by the physical. And let’s not forget ‘RTFKT community’. One of the most notable paradigm shifts that NFTs are creating is around community first. Everyone in the community has the chance to become a creator and share their creations with everyone else.
“Choose drip upgrades and powers” - Games in the future?
Let’s take a step back and go back to the patent Nike submitted.
Figure 1 and Figure 2 build on what they’ve done with Nike ID/By You and expanded upon it. Breeding/evolving is already something that can be done, by breaking it down the components. This allows for modularity and scalability.
PS: Did you notice they already called it “CryptoKicks” back then too? Sheeeeesh.
Mashup aka breeding.
You won’t be able to just collect and evolve your CryptoKicks, you’ll be able to use them in videos games.
And how is everyone reacting to this? Well, some are dissecting the intro video, some have already created their own skin vial prototypes, and others are thinking through future applications of the phygital experience.
So what’s next for RTFKT? We know that digital sneakers will be a big part of their roadmap. But what about Clone X? And what’s in the MNLTH 2 box? Is this going to be a Matryoshka doll situation? Lol.
At least you can save closet space buying digital sneakers, right?