Cooked up in a bedroom by British Nigerian Entrepreneur Clint, Corteiz started with straightforward prints on athletic wear. Now? It's a heavyweight in the street culture fashion scene.
But Corteiz wasn't Clint's first rodeo in the fashion game. Back in the day, he and a friend birthed a brand called Cade on The Map. It had its moment in the local limelight but, alas, it fizzled out after a year. Rumor has it a clash of business styles might've pulled the plug on the brand. All that remains from Cade is a quiet Twitter page.
However, Clint didn't throw in the towel on his fashion dreams. He went back to the drawing board, and what emerged next was a whole different beast. Corteiz despite its overwhelming new notoriety, has managed to maintain a sizable element of mystery — no doubt a major factor in that immense popularity — Corteiz’ story so far is as fascinating as it is illusive.
Taking a page out of Supreme's playboo, Clint slapped his iconic designs on blank canvases, dropped limited pieces, hosted low-key pop-ups in London, all while keeping the brand's page on the down-low with a password-protected website. The result? People's curiosity hit the roof, and suddenly, everyone was craving Corteiz.
Check the logo—a snapshot of the Alcatraz prison in San Francisco, paired with the tagline "Corteiz Rules the World." It's a symbol of the brand's vibe—breaking free from the system, rebelling against the status quo.
Being part of a creative collective, Clint had many connections in the entertainment world and knew how to work them. Word spread like wildfire, and soon, Corteiz was collaborating with UK heavyweights like Motherland and Places + Faces.
The brand skyrocketed, endorsed by the likes of Central Cee, Dave Stormzy, and Jorja Smith, both on stage and on the 'gram. Riding this wave of hype, Clint dropped new gear regularly, including standouts like the Corteiz crop top and Balaklava, driving fans wild.
Corteiz hit the big leagues when the legendary Virgil Abloh rocked their socks at global fashion events. But the brand's the brands most iconic moment took place on Jan 21st, 2022. The Instagram announcement echoed: a new Bolo jacket, but instead of cash, you had to swap it for your own jacket. Chaos ensued. Fans stormed the streets, leaped fences, all for a chance at one of the 50 exclusive jackets.
The collected loot, ranging from North Face to Moncler and even a Drake x Nike Nocta gem, was donated to the homeless. The Corteiz bolo dropped online the next day, sold out in a flash, and the event went so viral that fashion bigwigs took notice, leading to a collab with Nike.
In a period where big capital is heavily invested in the world of street wear brands, effectively watering down the essence of brands like Supreme and Bape and the fact that major fashion houses are banking off the streetwear culture with plagiarized designs, Corteiz serves as breath of fresh air. It is exciting to see what the brand has in store for the future.
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