Corteiz
Coming out of the boroughs of London, Corteiz have risen to the upper-echelon of street wear brands within the matter of just a few years, cultivating a die-hard consumer base across the globe - and I mean die-hard; these guys will near enough punch-up each other over a free t-shirt at their pop-up events. Although, I almost can’t blame them, and neither can this high-end creative director apparently.
When it comes to street wear brands, many of us know quality occasionally happens to come at the expense of the product’s hype - but that’s the thing, Corteiz aren’t like the rest. Gifting their consumers cozy pieces, wrapped up in niche concepts and colour ways that set anyone stepping out on the pavement in a pair of their yellow ‘Alcatraz’ joggers aside from the rest.
Fronting the RTW (rulestheworld) movement, founder Clint has also ascended to goat level status along with the brand itself at this point, bringing the people a breath of fresh air to the scene with his true-to-self demeanour not only embracing his City’s culture, but joyfully sticking two-fingers up to the reselling community with direct action: cancelling any orders he catches prematurely listed on Depop at first sight. Presenting just another reason why you need to invest in this man’s movement, if not for the garments, for that reason at least.
Now there’s no denying that the brand is a sure hit within today’s youth-culture, seeing people all over the country hopping on the wave, but it was when they gathered recognition from the likes of songstress Jorja Smith rocking their rust ‘Alcatraz’ tracksuit (I took an L not grabbing that set) and West London’s very own Central Cee linking-up with the team to promote their iconic Balaclava during his promotional run for Wild West that really got heads turning.
Although, Clint and the team over at Corteiz can now say they have the true potential to RULE THE WORLD with out question following the recent occurrence of Mr Virgil (“Streetwear? It’s definitely gonna die”) Abloh himself honouring the brand as of yesterday on his Instagram story; seeing the creative-director of the power-house Louis Vuitton rocking one of the brand’s black ‘Alcatraz’ hoodies under a jacket. Fast forward a few days, and the creative director come day, DJ by night only goes and posts a fit-pic on his feed sporting a pair of the sought-after ‘Alcatraz’ cargo trousers by the blooming streetwear brand. Putting not only Corteiz on the map, but also the idea that street wear may have more to give to the industry than many expected. I mean, just take Balenciaga’s recent controversial Trompe l’oeil track trousers for example. However, one can only hope to see these high-end names looking to collaborate with these youth-culture power houses instead of merely stealing concepts.
Check out some of the garms Corteiz have to offer right now following their recent drop over on their website though, and make sure to follow their socials!