Yesterday adidas Originals announced an web3 partnership with FEWOCiOUS, whose bold style as an artist catapulted him onto the scene as an 18 year old during the NFT boom in early 2021.
The announcement states that the artist started using adidas silhouettes as an artistic canvas four years ago. It doesn’t mention that FEWOCiOUS collaborated with RTFKT for sneaker designs, which put RTFKT on the map. The ultra-cool RTFKT sneaker NFTs sold for $3 million at the start of the NFT hype cycle in March 2021. They contributed to RTFKT getting acquired by Nike. Arguably those pre-Nike sneakers look more adidas style.
“Working with adidas is a real dream come true,” said FEWOCiOUS. “I can’t believe I was paintin’ adidas shoes in my bedroom by myself four years ago and now I get to officially collaborate with them! This is one of the longest projects I’ve ever worked on and keeping things a secret is so hard I just want to scream it from the rooftops! I really believe in the future of fashion and footwear and the intersection of digital and physical, and I’m so excited for these to see the world and for everyone to be part of that journey with me.”
The first initiative in the partnership is the launch of the Trefoil Flower Mint Pass on June 22. The gated NFT’s name is a nod to the three leaf Trefoil Adidas logo. In turn, this enables access to a limited edition NFT and holders can redeem it for physical Campus 00 sneakers later in the summer. As usual, existing holders of certain FEWOCiOUS and adidas NFTs get early access and exclusive benefits.
Adidas has also been working on 3D apparel for the metaverse.
Meanwhile, Nike has launched a web3 platform .SWOOSH as well as a combination of physical and digital sneakers, Cryptokicks iRL. Earlier this month, Nike announced a deal to embed web3 sneakers in EA Sports games. This week, sports apparel company PUMA also unveiled its latest web3 initiative.
