Soon you'll be able to wear the Nike (NYSE: NKE) Swoosh, yes the logo itself, like a pair of shoes.
At this point, you might be wondering how a human foot could even fit into such a shape, and the truth is, it can't, but that's not stopping Nike.
The company is looking to get in on the ground floor of a budding new clothing category: virtual fashion, acquiring RTKFT, a studio specializing in tokenized digital clothing.
These blockchain-based clothes can be any impossible shape the mind can conjure, including the Nike Swoosh, and can even sell at real-world price points, despite existing only in VR. More than that, Nike's decision to buy RTKFT sends a clear signal that it sees virtual fashion as a legitimate sales category.
In its release, Nike described RTKFT as a "pioneering and innovative brand that redefines the boundaries of physical and digital value," citing the studio's use of non-fungible tokens and blockchain technology "to create one of a kind virtual products and experiences."
The purchase "accelerates Nike's digital transformation," said the brand's President and CEO John Donahoe. "Our plan is to invest in the RTFKT brand, serve and grow their innovative and creative community and extend Nike's digital footprint and capabilities."
RTFKT has existed for little more than a year, coming to the fore just as NFT's (non-fungible tokens) began making headlines for the first time.
NFT's are basically like Bitcoin except that they confer ownership of a virtual object, like an image file, or a bit of social media. Every NFT is different or "non-fungible," hence the name.
In February, RTFKT partnered with artist Fewocious to sell 600 pairs of online-only sneakers for $3 million. More recently, the studio partnered with Takashi Muramaki to sell digital avatars in a project titled CloneX. According to the company, CloneX has seen at least $65 million in transaction volume since it launched a few weeks ago.
The CloneX landing page greets you with a twitching cartoon eye and immediately asks you to link to your Metamask wallet, which is used to buy, sell and store non-fungibles.
The interface conjures images of a time when cryptographic keys, like the aforementioned wallet, will act like housekeys, unlocking your trove of digital goods up to and including the very skin you wear during your stay in virtual reality.
Of course, we aren't there yet. The metaverse has no universal standards, so digital goods used in one version of VR might not work in another version, potentially limiting the initial appeal of block-chain-based clothing.
Despite this, Nike and brands beyond are pushing hard into the brave new metaverse.
In September, Balenciaga went so far as to launch a capsule collection of in-game skins, avatars, and accessories from within 'Fortnite', with prices reaching as high as $700. Gucci launched its own line of virtual sneakers through Wanna, an AR platform, earlier this year. Meanwhile, Adidas (OTC: ADDYY), Nike's nearest rival, recently launched a collaboration with Bored Ape Yacht Club, a noted purveyor of NFT's, as part of its own blockchain bid.
But Nike is further ahead than many of its rivals, laying the foundations for its metaverse bid as early as 2019. That year, the company filed a patent for "cryptokicks" tokenized digital sneakers that may or may not be tied to shoes in the real world.
And as mentioned you will be able to wear the Nike logo as a pair of virtual shoes, with the company recently filing patents for half a dozen different versions of its logo to be used as digital apparel.