In the world of NFTs, hype is the biggest contributing determining factor of a project's lifeline in the Web3 zeitgeist. Hype fuels public discussion and nurtures the community interest that keeps projects relevant, and more importantly, highly sought-after on the open market.

Through its time in the Web3 limelight, RTFKT Studios has shown time and again a deep understanding of how to harness the power of hype and leverage it into long-term success.

Initially founded in 2019 by Benoit Pagotto, Chris Le, and Steven Vasilev, RTFKT Studios’ earliest claims to fame were their virtual sneakers. Why sneakers? Pagotto believed that using sneakers as a canvas for their unique designs gave their work a unique cross-market appeal — something Pagotto learned when he designed merchandise for European esports giant Fnatic.

Fnatic on Instagram: “The Fnatic Yeezy 700 Raven. They were designed as our Special Prize for the @fnaticgear Salty Summer - now, they live.”

It’s a simple yet powerful premise. Sneakerheads would come for the cool shoes, and anyone even remotely enmeshed in geek culture would come for the pop culture symbolism that typically adorns RTFKT’s designs.

By the time 2021 rolled around and the NFT craze had reached fever pitch, RTFKT’s virtual couture was a match made in heaven for the digital artifact revolution making waves across the internet. Case in point: RTFKT made headlines in March 2021 when its collaboration with crypto art darling FEWOCiOUS sold in just seven minutes for an eye-watering $3.1 million.

Later in the year, RTFKT would make its play in the growing niche of PFP-centric NFT projects with the CloneX collection. Through this project, the creator-led organization has made massive inroads in establishing NFTs as the key to the creative economies of tomorrow. So how does this NFT project fit into RTFKT’s long-term creative strategy, exactly?

Launched in late November 2021, this 20,000-piece NFT collection of dripped-out anime-inspired avatars was RTFKT’s first big pilot project toward realizing its goal of building a brand that seamlessly merged the luxury sensibilities of the crypto, gaming, and streetwear communities into one unabashedly hyped package.

Key to the quick success of the CloneX NFT collection was RTFKT’s biggest collaborator for the project: Japanese art legend Takashi Murakami. To bring the collection together, RTFKT worked closely with Murakami to develop the traits found in this collection, imbuing RTFKT’s pop-culture-centric take on streetwear with Murakami’s distinctive creative eye.

Interwoven throughout the 20,000-piece NFT collection are some of Murakami’s stylistic calling cards, seen in the skulls and flowers adorning some of the more sought-after traits found in the collection. Additionally, avatars in the collection possessing the Murakami DNA trait directly reference Murakami’s iconic Kaikai Kiki art collection.

So what can you actually do with your CloneX NFT avatars after purchasing them? Well, once you own one of these NFTs, you can use them to represent yourself online. No, we’re not talking about using them as PFPs (though you’re free to do that as well), we’re talking about the metaverse. Ownership of a CloneX NFT doesn’t just entail ownership of an image of one of these avatars — it’s also ownership of the avatar itself. Since these avatars come fully rigged, you can feasibly use these avatars to stand in for yourself pretty much anywhere online. From IG stories to Zoom calls at work, the possibilities that come with a CloneX NFT are virtually endless.

After RTFKT’s successful foray into the world of PFP NFTs, it later announced it would be returning to its roots with the release of its Cryptokicks series of NFT collectibles — a 15,000-piece NFT collection based on the iconic Nike Dunk sneakers coming in a myriad of colorways and effects only possible in the metaverse.

RTFKT opting to feature Nike Dunks in its much-hyped return to virtual sneakers wasn’t just out of love for the apparel brand’s place in pop culture. The launch of the genesis Cryptokicks Nike Dunks collection came just a few short months after Nike acquired RTFKT Studios to extend its reach into the growing metaverse. Later in the year, RTFKT followed up the genesis collection’s successful launch with the announcement that it intended to bring its virtual sneakers into the real world with the Cryptokicks iRL collection.

Aside from being available on OpenSea as an NFT collectible, Cryptokicks iRL sneakers were also made available for purchase, as its name suggests, in the real world. In December 2022, RTFKT put up its Lace Engine NFTs for sale, which gave buyers the rights to one of RTFKT and Nike’s 19,000 limited edition sneakers. So what are they?

True to RTFKT’s pulse on pop culture on its forward-looking vision, each Cryptokicks iRL sneaker is based on the Nike Air Mag — the self-lacing shoes first "Back to the Future Part II". Each physical Cryptokick iRL is touted as being a fully functional smart sneaker, complete with other futuristic creature comforts like customizable lighting, wireless charging, and of course, the auto-lacing feature that gave 1980s movie audiences a brief glimpse into the future.

Thankfully, for NFT purists, RTFKT also launched a corresponding Cryptokicks iRL NFT collection, giving CloneX owners a chance to flex their kicks in the metaverse.

Banking its entire strategy on the power of hype may seem short-sighted on the surface, but RTFKT has proven through its various creative ventures that it understands the single most important aspect of hype: it’s cyclical. The young NFT collectors of today paying an arm and a leg for today’s hottest NFT drops inevitably become the veterans of tomorrow looking to recapture those feelings.

CloneX built the foundations of RTFKT’s community; now Cryptokicks looks to provide members of this community with a series of high-quality releases that complement the foundational CloneX NFT avatars. And who knows? Maybe we’ll even see reissues of “vintage” Cryptokick NFTs down the line for when the virtual fashion economy has matured to the point where vintage is even possible. At that point, the hype cycle starts all over again.