Unless you’ve been living under a rock for the past year, you’ve undoubtedly heard about the Nike x RTFKT collection of NFTs and corresponding sneakers. The NFT collection launched in 2022 and was long rumored to be the link to physical shoes. They teased a forged of physical shoes for a long time and now those shoes are available.
The Genesis drop from RTFKT x Nike is now available with 10 pairs of Air Force 1’s available in minimal quantities. To secure the shoes you must purchase the corresponding NFT and then “forge” the physical shoe. Once you forge, the shoe will be made to order and will ship out in a process similar to the Nike By You program.
To create the shoes, Nike x RTFKT teamed with some top-notch sneaker designers and spared no expense in using premium materials across the board. All 10 pairs are themed around various lifeforms with designs to match their namesake.
- RTFKT x Nike Air Force 1 Alien (60 Units): Cool grey panels made of custom embossed rubber with alternating bright yellow panels of microfiber leather make up the base of the Alien shoes. A 3D molded purple swoosh and a never before seen enamel-coated midsole make this shoe truly unique.
- RTFKT x Nike Air Force 1 Murakami DNA (167 Units): Each pair of the Murakami features a full-grain leather upper with a unique digitally printed design. With each design being different each pair is truly a 1 of 1. The translucent swoosh all-white sole makes this shoe a must-have.
- RTFKT x Nike Air Force 1 Undead (190 Units): Comprised of textured Ostrich leather on the overlaying panels and black hole toebox and medials the shoe looks like it just rose up out of the grave. The no spark green colored swoosh, stitching, and lace holes are the only signs of life found on the Undeads.
- RTFKT x Nike Air Force 1 Reptile (399 Units): The neon yellow upper features various molded textures resembling many forms of reptilian creatures. Bold orange highlights on the swoosh, outsole, and sockliner make the shoe perfectly cold-blooded.
- RTFKT x Nike Air Force 1 Demon (1031): From the depths of despair comes the Bred colored Demon. While the colors may be simple this design uses premium tumbled leather, and embossed full-grain pigment leather to make its understated design shine.
- RTFKT x Nike Air Force 1 Robot (1126 Units): The machine-themed shoe uses a vacuum-laminated textile for the upper and mirrored ripstop accent panels. The predominately robot grey upper is complimented by metallic purple leather accents on the swoosh and heel with stitching and laces to match.
- RTFKT x Nike Air Force 1 Angel (1327 Units): Much like its demonic counterpart the Angel keeps a relatively simple color palate. The full-grain white leather uppers use translucent paneling to give the shoes a heavenly vibe.
- RTFKT x Nike Air Force 1 Genesis (1776 Units): Another Bred-themed shoe with premium microfiber leather making up the pitch-black upper. The Swoosh is made up of recycled nylon that gives the signature logo a glow effect.
- RTFKT x Nike Air Force 1 Human (1986 Units): The shoe inspired by mankind is engineered with bone colored 60z BCI cotton canvas. The sky-blue swoosh contrasts the neutral-colored upper with its premium leather makeup.
- RTFKT x Nike Air Force 1 Murakami Drip (4182 Units): The second Murakami of the collection will be the most readily available shoe with over 4000 units in production. The digitally printed upper features metallic foil TPU accents and pigment-printed full-grain leather.
With just over 12,000 pairs in the entire collection each of the 10 designs are already worth of holy grail status. RTFKT x Nike is reshaping the way sneakers are designed and released and this is just the tip of the iceberg. No doubt there will be more releases like this down the road. One thing is for sure, the future of sneakers has officially arrived.
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Images via RTFKT