Streetwear is my beloved culture and one that I will never tire of talking about. It’s amazing. Everything about it is great and inspires people: the people, the styles, the music, etc. Stussy came up with the brilliant concept of screen-printing a white logo on a black T-shirt to promote sales in the 1980s, and streetwear was born. It was a massive success. Other brands and cultures were introduced to streetwear after Sussy’s creation, but more about its creation can be found in this article.
Although this culture has existed for more than 30 years, it has only been in the last few years that streetwear has revolutionized the fashion industry and become a necessity for any brand or store, including luxury, thanks to various collaborations. As I’ve mentioned before, streetwear is both a culture and a movement. Community, story-telling, attitude, fantastic art, and more are all part of its culture, and it would be nothing without them.
Bored Ape Yacht Club — Most successful & popular collection at the moment
NFTs… I discovered them in March 2021, and have spent most of my time since then educating myself on this new technology and looking for ideas and answers on how to create and drive the culture forward by merging streetwear and NFTs. While researching them more, I discovered that these two movements have a lot in common and can learn a lot from one another. NFTs, for example, can learn from streetwear collaborations (which are starting to occur but will be discussed later in this article) or streetwear can learn from NFT decentralization.
Isn’t it true that NFTs are digital? When we think of streetwear, we either think of Digital Fashion or an NFT art project with diverse utility, but for the time being, we’ll stick with Digital Fashion. Many brands have worked on collaborations with various digital games in recent years. For the 2019 League of Legends World Championship Finals in Paris, Louis Vuitton collaborated with Riot Games to develop a bespoke travel case for the Summoner’s Cup trophy, prestige skins for two champions, and other digital assets. Physical goods were also made to match the skins in the game.
Balenciaga x Fortnite
Balenciaga x Fortnite is a more recent partnership that is likely to be more popular. Last year, digital fashion made its first appearance in Fortnite. Ramirez, Doggo, and other characters were able to express themselves in new ways thanks to the Balenciaga Fit Set. The luxury label’s fashion, free sprays, the Strange Times Featured Hub, which built a virtual Balenciaga store that matched the real ones, and a live photography campaign were all brought to life within the gaming set. Physical duplicates of those seen in the game were also made available.
Honor of Kings x Burberry
Aside from these two collaborations, there has been a slew of others, like Gucci x Roblox, Honor of Kings x Burberry, etc., all of which demonstrate the fashion industry’s desire to enter the digital arena. Fans go crazy and love what they create every time one of them collaborates with a game or other digital product and releases digital fashion. The only issue is that we, as users and purchasers of those skins and other digital goods, will not benefit from them. They’ll only be used in-game, and they’ll be useless after the game is closed. NFTs, on the other hand, disrupt this.
Have you ever wished for more as a reward for being a loyal customer of a brand? Have you ever desired special items or collaborations? Have you ever wanted to purchase a limited-edition item but couldn’t due to bots on the market? If you answered yes to these questions, then I can tell you that NFTs are the answer. They will become a reality thanks to this technology. Different fashion brands have issued or will release Digital Fashion and NFTs collections, which provide people exclusivity, ownership, the opportunity to profit from reselling the item, and access to exclusive items, events, or other things generated by the specific brand. Isn’t that incredible? You will now feel like a true member of the brand, with access to everything you’ve ever wanted and more simply by purchasing and holding a token. This technology will undoubtedly transform and advance streetwear and fashion cultures.
We had the opportunity to watch various fashion labels join the NFT movement last year and at the start of this one. Gap’s NFT partnership with a gamified digital experience, Burberry’s first NFT housed within Blankos Block Party, and others. Even though I’d like to discuss more all of the brands that have filled this space, I’ve opted to focus on three or four of them that I believe have had and continue to have an impact on the fashion industry and beyond. As I previously stated, the ones I will bring to you today are not the only ones who have done so, and they are certainly not the last. Many more brands will realize the possibility and join this area shortly. Let’s get started with the first label:
Adidas Originals: “Into the Metaverse”
A change was made to Adidas’ official Twitter page on December 2, 2021. An Ape was used in place of their usual profile photo, which included their logo. BAYC #8774, “Indigo Herz,” has been their official PFP and symbol since that day. Gmoney, PUNKS Comic, and, of course, Bored Ape Yacht Club were the driving forces behind this shift. It wasn’t a surprising move, given that they had released some news on Twitter a month before the acquisition, letting those already working in the field know that something was in the works. Adidas, for example, purchased space in TheSandBox on November 22nd and inked a collaboration with Coinbase on November 24th. These were unmistakable signs of the brand’s direction.
Gmoney, PUNKS Comic, and the Bored Ape Yacht Club assisted Adidas Originals in their journey Into the Metaverse on December 17, 2021. The NFT is a limited-edition collectible that marks their collaboration by providing holders with rare collaborative tangible products as well as continued digital utility. The quantity of NFTs is capped at 30,000, with a mint price of 0.2 ETH. On the secondary market, the item is now selling for 0.96 ETH (about $2.500 + Gas).
Because Adidas is one of the most well-known and recognized brands in the industry, I chose to specify this project. Even if other fashion brands’ initiatives were established before Adidas’s, I believe the way they achieved it by purchasing a BAYC, working with industry pioneers, purchasing property, and so on had a stronger influence on consumers than simply launching an NFT collection and calling it a day. Millions of individuals have undoubtedly seen their new PFP, questioned what it was, and wanted to learn more about it, and I am confident that at least a quarter of them have recognized the value of NFTs and hopped aboard.
Nike acquisition of RTFKT
I’d like to introduce you to RTFKT first because everyone has heard of Nike. RTFKT (pronounced “Artifact”) studio was founded by three friends at the start of the COVID era, and it was “born on the metaverse,” as they claim. It’s known for making virtual sneakers, memes, and other limited-edition collectibles. RTFKT’s mission is to “create the first digital-first fashion label.” The FEWOCIOUS x RTFKT sneaker collection debuted in early March 2021. Even though the prices ranged from $3000 to $10,000 per shoe, some collectors were not intimidated, and in less than 7 minutes, they had spent $3.1 million on the three shoe drops. The real sneakers were finally shipped out in July 2021, four months after the debut. This is the collection that first introduced RTFKT to the attention of the general audience. Collaborations with Jeff Staple (an influential figure in the streetwear scene), Takashi Murakami (the most recent of which is CloneX), and others followed the great success of their three shoe releases. In a nutshell, here is the chronology of their collaborations and releases.
One of the founders stated in one of the interviews that I listened to that they’ve always wanted to be a digital version of Nike. It didn’t take long for Nike to notice them and the possibility to put them under their umbrella, thanks to their vision and high-quality releases. As a result, everyone was taken aback on December 13, 2021, when both Nike and RTFKT revealed that Nike had acquired the cherished Studio. People started debating whether it was a wise decision or not because they were a web3 company and only built in this manner when they were bought by a Web2 titan. Everyone has an opinion, but if Nike understands this new place and what people desire, I am confident that they will offer nothing but gold and help to propel this world ahead. We’ll have to wait and see what the future has in store for us!
The Hundreds: Adam Bomb Squad ( ABS )
Bobby Kim and Ben Shenassafar, law school classmates, founded the Hundreds streetwear brand in 2003. It began as a blog, then started selling T-shirts, and was named the fifth greatest streetwear brand of all time in 2011. This claim, I feel, cannot be disputed by anyone familiar with The Hundreds’ culture. When I first became interested in streetwear tradition, I wanted to learn more about what it means, how it is expressed, and how it has evolved, and when I came across The Hundreds, I immediately recognized that this label has streetwear in its name, basis, and everything. They are, among others, a representative of this culture.
It is one of the longest-running streetwear labels, having been around for over 19 years. They’ve survived for so long, in my opinion, because they’ve always put their community first, preaching tales, creating meaningful and expressive designs, and choosing to collaborate with brands not because of the “name,” but because they truly enjoyed it. I have nothing but admiration and respect for what they’ve done to our culture and how they continue to push it forward.
The Hundreds’ NFT project, Adam Bomb Squad ( or ABS ), was launched on Friday, August 27th, and it was a significant day for them. ABS has a total of 25,000 different bomb combinations. Adam has become the face of The Hundreds, as well as a streetwear generation, over the last 15 years. He made cameo appearances in Pixar films and climbed to the top of the tallest Times Square billboard. It was a straightforward decision to create an NFT collection with Adam as the main figure because he is one of the most well-loved and recognizable mascots in fashion. NFTs are the next evolution of Adam Bomb Squad representation. You’ll get a variety of perks if you hold one of the Bombs, including free T-shirts, early access to new releases, “allow-listing” for future NFT projects, other promotional products, and more. I don’t see why someone shouldn’t be an owner of ABS. The Bombs now have a floor price of 1.1 ETH (about $2,800), but I believe it is worthwhile to spend this money on a.jpeg for the benefits that you will receive.
The fact that I knew the streetwear culture was moving forward was what got me the most thrilled when I heard The Hundreds was launching an NFT collection. They were undoubtedly going to introduce something new to both the streetwear and NFT spaces, and I was correct. Initially, they offered exclusivity by leveraging NFTs as a means for early access to drops or by giving holders free T-shirts, among other things. This was accomplished by tokenizing their website to determine who is and is not a holder. Preaching and attracting more people to this new space, as well as seeking ways to introduce streetwear to NFTs and vice versa, could only be healthy for both communities.
The most essential point thing that the NFT space must learn from streetwear is the need for collaboration. This was overlooked by the NFT community. We’ve witnessed the influence of the FEWOUCIOUS x RTFK on the market, but there haven’t been many after then. This is about to change, as The Hundreds announced last month collaborations between ABS and three NFT projects that are well-liked by the community: DEADFELLAZ, Smilesss, and BRAiN VOMiT. Apart from the fact that The Hundreds continue to distribute solely gold to their community in real life, they continue to do it through ABS as well. These collaborations were done for the people and communities on both sides, and one thing I particularly admire about them is that they are attempting to incorporate elements of streetwear culture into the NFT, and they are succeeding brilliantly! It’s fantastic!
As you may have guessed, this is perhaps the project that excites me the most, but there are good reasons for that, as I’ve explained in previous articles. I’m excited to see where the project goes and what collaborations or other fascinating things ABS can provide for us.
A Bathing Ape ( BAPE )
This concludes this article’s examples. Even though their project has not yet been out, I wanted to include BAPE because if you are a true streetwear fan, you know that history and culture would have looked very different without BAPE and Nigo’s presence. NIGO created A Bathing Ape in 1993, and it has had a significant impact on streetwear culture since then. Discover the complete story in this piece, where I discuss the origins of streetwear and how it all began.
Their NFT project, the (B)APETAVERSE, promises BAPE fans exclusive content and other opportunities. There will be a total of 10,000 unique NFTs, and the blacked-out teaser image looks magnificent. The release date for (B)Apetaverse is unknown, but you may learn more about it by visiting their beautiful website and joining their Discord group.
We’ve come to the end of this post, and I’d want to share some views with you about the subjects I’ve covered so far. I’m delighted to see brands like Adidas or Nike, and I’m excited to see what they have in store for us soon, but seeing OG streetwear labels like BAPE or a streetwear icon like The Hundreds as part of this new movement get my excitement to the moon. Why? Because knowing NFTs and streetwear can only benefit both cultures, these moves can only be beneficial. They’re pretty similar, and when combined properly, they can make amazing things. Physical streetwear, I feel, will not go away anytime soon, but NFTs are a fantastic way to add a new chapter to its history and culture.
Before I leave, I’d like to ask you a few questions about which I’d love to hear from you in the comments or on Twitter:
1. What are your thoughts on the above-mentioned brands? Do you believe they’ll bring anything good or negative to the space?
2. Which brands do you want to see join the NFT movement?
3. What impact do you expect NFTs will have on the streetwear industry?
I am looking forward to reading your answers!
*The story was first published on Medium on February 4, 2022. I decided to relocate it here for a step-by-step migration to Web 3.0.
Thank you very much!
Have a wonderful day!