Corteiz’s Stateside Shutdown Was Only a Matter of Time
With hysteria in full force, Clint proved that Corteiz’s hype is abundant in “ANY CITY.”
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Forget queuing for Supreme, running for Corteiz is the new international hype.
Clint’s cult imprint has a well-documented chokehold on Londoners, but how and why did it pop off like it did yesterday in New York City? Clearly, many were mistaken in thinking the Corteiz effect wouldn’t impact the Big Apple’s streetwear community in quite the same way as it does at home.
For those unaware, yesterday’s city-shutdown antics culminated around the New York-special colorway of Corteiz’s Nike Air Max 95 collaboration. In its usual form, Corteiz dropped coordinates leading thousands to a local bodega, where inside you could cop the special “Pink Beam” pair. As anticipated, hysteria unfolded en masse, reminiscent of Jeff Staple’s Pigeon Dunk days and Virgil Abloh’s “The Ten” collection. But unlike these cultural monoliths, seldom has a UK label congregated and commanded such buzz overseas.
Should anyone be surprised? New York City and London share many cultural similarities, after all. Once-underground labels like Palace have taken NYC by storm – in a similar vein to how Supreme’s debut in London had streets of Soho in a whirlwind-level frenzy for years. Our shared love for dressing for the weather – à la Timberland boots and Avirex jackets (the latter informing Corteiz’s own Da Skydive jacket) – pinpoint an epochal era for OG streetwear heads cross-continentally. Even our musical tastes have pollinated each other’s territory in recent years, evidenced in East Coast rap soundtracking Britain in the late ‘90s, Skepta murking MOMA, Drill going back and forth across the pond and, most recently, Ice Spice and Pinkpanthress going viral with their collaborative NYC-meets-LDN pretty girl anthem “The Boys a Liar.”
But similarities aside, could the Corteiz appeal be something felt IRL in NYC?
As you looked around the “Pink Beam” drop, you’d be forgiven for thinking you were in London. Because, not only was the crowd decked in Corteiz’s “Alcatraz” track pants and hoodies, it also subscribed to the message behind this: as hoards ran towards the coordinates, the kids proved that Clint’s ethos of breaking free of conventions (à la Alcatraz) works just as well in the States as it does at home. Savvy marketing tactics and off-beat drop methods are pivotal to the brand’s success, and doing the same in NYC has undoubtedly taken the brand to new heights.
Henry Goodfellow
Henry Goodfellow
Henry Goodfellow
Henry Goodfellow
Henry Goodfellow
However, over on Hypebeast UK’s Instagram, after the spontaneous Subway Surfing had subsided, commenters took a different stance. While the event was undoubtedly deemed “marketing genius,” many couldn’t wrap their heads around the furor: “Tuesday afternoon, standing in line for hours? Unemployment at its finest,” “The state of sneaker culture is in disarray,” “This isn’t about shoes anymore,” and “All this for a shoe your uncle would wear to the cookout.” It’s clear that Corteiz gets the people going, but it’s also incredibly divisive.
Corteiz fully immerses its customers in a cultural bubble, and this is not the only notion that’s shared between London and New York. Both take a zero-BS approach to life, both live minute-to-minute, and this shared attitude resonates with what the brand stands for. Simply put, if you want to understand why Corteiz thrived, look at the similarities between the US and the UK.
New Yorkers’ understanding and appreciation of UK style and streetwear was also clear to see at the event. Locals noted that UK uniform comprised of trackies and 110s, as well as pointing out Brits’ ability to mix high-and-low, littering references to luxury brands like Prada and its Americas Cup sneaker, or how cropped sweatshirts can add a sense of fashion forwardness to an otherwise signature grassroots look.
Henry Goodfellow
Henry Goodfellow
Henry Goodfellow
Henry Goodfellow
They weren’t just keen to get their hands on the coveted sneakers, but also emulate the attitudes, styles, and vibes that circle around what Corteiz stands for. Fans of the drop concocted their own visions of UK streetwear and how to wear the Corteiz Nikes in true London style; “Nike Tech, black tracksuit. Air Max 95s, 97s.” Others commented on Skepta’s influence in the UK and abroad, noting how his style has become a cornerstone of streetwear identity alongside “larger-fitting pants and 95s.” They practiced what they were preaching, donning the same Brit-style ‘fits while breaking down stylistic stereotypes.
And it’s here that Corteiz has found its foot-in across the pond – as it did in Paris, Lagos, and Australia, it lives out the “rulestheworld” mantra by crash landing in another locale. Once again, the collective put UK streetwear on the map in a way we’ve never seen before. Now, it’s really just a case of which city is next in line.
