Shoes have been an important invention for humanity. As we traverse the Earth, we need shoes to protect the weirdly vulnerable soft tissue that we walk on. However, if everyone moves into the digital world, would we even need shoes? Nike thinks so.
In order to cater to the foot fashion of the digital world, Nike has acquired metaverse clothing company RTFKT. Just like real life, the shoe company hopes that their digital sneakers will foster a rabid collectors market.
RTFKT and Nike will make the sneakers of the future
Announced on Twitter, RTFKT has been acquired by the fan-favourite footwear company. The Metaverse fashion brand has been described as “a leading brand that leverages cutting edge innovation to deliver next generation collectibles that merge culture and gaming.”
Much like Adidas’ work in the Sandbox metaverse, the brand will be used to sell digital apparel. Virtual shoes created by RTFKT will be sold as NFTs that can, one day, be used on avatars across compatible metaverse worlds? Which ones? Good question.
Anyways, RTFKT already has a strong track of peddling pretend garments. Back in February, the brand partnered with FEWOCiOUS to sell a new line of sneakers. In just six minutes, the company managed to sell over 600 pairs of virtual shoes.
However, there's no knowing just how much value virtual shoes have. As reported by The Verge, multiple pairs of the FEWOCiOUS sneakers are back up for sale. While some minted items resell for higher than their launch price, RTFKT items are typically selling for less.
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Brand Loyalty in the Metaverse
Of course, the low resale of these shoes now may deteriorate with the arrival of Nike branding. Much like real life, the introduction of an iconic brand into anything will improve sales and value. As consumerism becomes more entwined with brands like Apple or Marvel, it becomes easier to sell items.
We've already seen the metaverse adopt brands. For example, The Sandbox metaverse already has worlds idolising Atari, Adidas and even Snoop Dogg. This form of IP idolisation is only going to get worse as time goes on.