How Corteiz Made Wild “Drop” Its Trademark

Cours de Vincennes, in Paris, on April 12.

At the stroke of 1 p.m., hundreds of people converge on a mysterious meeting point set by the Corteiz clothing brand, very popular with the younger generation.

Then, an RATP bus decorated by the firm makes a short trip through the streets of the capital.

By electric scooter, by bicycle or even by running, the teenagers follow the vehicle en masse, thus creating a first movement of the crowd.

And the scenes of chaos have multiplied within the ephemeral point of sale.

On site, the Corteiz brand organizes

" to sell its first collaboration with Nike.

On a pair of Air Max 95, the logo of the British brand (representing the island of Alcatraz surrounded by an oval) has been affixed to the top of the tongue.

The collaboration was announced in January on Corteiz's Instagram page.

In the video, we see the very famous comma and the Corteiz logo projected on the facade of the Nike Store in Oxford Street, London.

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A very selective brand

Two colors were available: one with a gradient of green, the other with a gradient of gray.

600 pairs were for sale.

A very limited quantity which logically invites young people to tempt fate to obtain the famous Grail.

For the general public, the brand was unknown until Wednesday.

Is right.

Created in 2017 by a British-Nigerian, Clint Ogbenna, better known by his nickname "

", the Corteiz brand has chosen digital.

No physical store but instead, a simple private Instagram account.

During its first two years of existence, the page of Corteiz was also hidden.

The only way to find her was to know someone who was following her.

And it works: in two years, the streetwear brand reaches 10,000 subscribers.

The page now has no less than 671,000 followers.

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The physical translation of the

digital

hype

” events

in specific locations to sell a limited collection.

For several years now in the world of streetwear, market leaders (Adidas, Nike and even Supreme) have been organizing

online “

This system, which could be translated into a digital lottery, nevertheless presents several problems.

One of them: “

”.

Because behind their screens, streetwear enthusiasts can install

on their computers.

These allow in particular to increase the chances of buying the items offered.

A method that annoys a lot.

Clint419 and Corteiz therefore took over the content but not the form.

Their “

” (new limited collections) are encrypted via a code sent by email, Twitter or Instagram.

Then everything happens in real life.

And the brand does not lack creativity to attract crowds.

One of their latest operation, “

”, took place in West London, where fans of the brand had found themselves thanks to GPS coordinates.

There, they had a chance to acquire Corteiz cargo pants for only 99 cents.

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Has Corteiz been overtaken?

Another "

"

the "BOLO Exchange" took place in a car park in the English capital.

Fans were invited to exchange their big brand down jacket (The North Face, Moncler, Supreme...) for a similar one stamped with the logo at Alcatraz Island.

This operation allowed Corteiz to earn more than 18,000 euros, a sum donated to St. Lawrence's Larder, a charity organization that provides meals to the homeless.

If all of Anglo-Saxon urban culture has dubbed Clint419, from Pharell Williams to Canadian rapper Drake to former artistic director Virgil Abloh, Corteiz has apparently been overwhelmed by the scope of his collaboration with Nike.

The scenes of violence filmed on Wednesday are a first for an event of the brand, which intends to fight the excesses of streetwear.

Asked, Nike did not answer our questions.