Since its humble beginnings in a bedroom in Shepherd’s Bush, West London, Corteiz has become one of the UK’s most influential streetwear brands. It’s also one of the most recognisable, thanks to its distinctive Alcatraz prison logo and bullish ‘rulestheworld’ tagline.

In just five years, founder Clint419 and his team have managed to build an authentic and fiercely independent voice that cuts through the underbelly of hypebeast culture, regularly using their platform to slate resale sites like StockX.

Generally deemed to be the gold standard collab for sneakerheads, Corteiz first teased its upcoming partnership with Nike in January, when it projected its logo onto the sportswear giant’s London flagship store.

In a rare move from Nike, the brand confirmed it’s never handed over the amount of creative control as it has to Corteiz, both in terms of marketing and design for the collab. The first taste of this approach comes in the form of a new campaign film to promote their highly-anticipated Air Max 95 release.

Directed by Walid Labri, the spot opens with news stations all over the world breaking the news that production of the 95s has been halted and there are only 100 pairs in existence. The news promptly results in a stock market crash, fights in the street over the last remaining pairs, and an auction where the coveted sneakers are fetching upwards of £110,000.

The film is laden with cameos as well, resurrecting British media staples Joga TV and Fonejacker and featuring singer Jorja Smith as an unbothered call centre worker.

Manchester City and England midfielder Phil Foden also recreates the classic Ronaldinho Joga Bonito crossbar challenge in homage to the viral Nike ad from 2005. And particularly eagle-eyed viewers may even spot an appearance from the Corteiz founder himself, as he happily watches the madness unfold.

Credits:
Director: Walid Labri
Production Company: Division
Director of Photography: Chris Ripley