Why I think what RTFKT and Rimowa are doing together is so interesting

It might sound a bit crazy at first — virtual luggage, but I think virtual everything will sound a lot less crazy over the next ten years. Over the next 1–3 years, sure it will still sound a bit crazy but that’s okay. Most new things sound crazy at first, until one day, they aren’t.

When Alexander Graham Bell first invented the telephone some people thought The Devil was on the other side and refused to use it. Fast forward to modern times and I can still remember my parents trying to explain to me in the early days of smart phone why they would never have one.

Just like I had conviction that the Internet was going to be a thing in the late 90’s (yes, I’m old) — and later that smart phones wouldn’t just be for the tech savvy but would be used by everyone, I have the same conviction for the Metaverse.

In my mind, I don’t believe, I just know that the concept of the Internet is going to move from a flat 2D website to a rich, interactive, 3D environment. While this won’t happen next year, or maybe even the year after that, twenty years from now I think the web we know today won’t be the web at all, it will be the Metaverse.

Before I go any further, a quick primer on RTFKT is important in case you aren’t familiar with them. Pronounced “artifact” — RTFKT build their brand by making incredibly cool digital sneakers — so cool that Nike decided to buy them in December of 2021. Here’s the skinny from Nike’s CEO on the acquisition and a bit more about RTFKT’s founding:

“This acquisition is another step that accelerates Nike’s digital transformation and allows us to serve athletes and creators at the intersection of sport, creativity, gaming and culture,” says John Donahoe, President and CEO of NIKE, Inc. “We’re acquiring a very talented team of creators with an authentic and connected brand. Our plan is to invest in the RTFKT brand, serve and grow their innovative and creative community and extend Nike’s digital footprint and capabilities.”

Founded in 2020, by Benoit Pagotto, Chris Le and Steven Vasilev, RTFKT is a pioneering and innovative brand that redefines the boundaries of physical and digital value to serve their broad community of creators. This dedicated team leverages the latest in game engines, NFTs, blockchain authentication and augmented reality to create one of a kind virtual products and experiences. (Source — Nike)

I could write a whole article about RTFKT and probably will, or should have a long time ago…but this article is about a collaboration with RIMOWA so I’ll leave it at this for now.

So let’s talk about collectibles.

RTFKT has been doing some fascinating collabs since the Nike acquisition, partnering with brands that are ready to dip their toes into the Metaverse. But what I find the most interesting, that we’re starting to see more and more of is the combination of digital and physical goods.

While I don’t know where you stand on NFTs, heck — I have no idea who you are reader. You can’t deny that people spend a lot of money on physical collectibles, with art being one of the most mind-boggling categories.

Heck let’s look at watches, the watch below sold earlier this year for $7.68M:

And yes, nice watches sell for $1M+ all the time. Art selling for $10M+ also isn’t that crazy. My point is, physical collectibles are a thing, have been a thing for a long time, and people seem to just accept that.

NFTs have pioneered the concept of digital collectibles, and just like people scoffed at the idea of digital currency, the same shade gets cast on digital collectibles. I get it, but I see something interesting emerging that is blending a world that people understand (or at least accept) and one that people don’t — and I’m talking about the pairing of digital and physical collectibles.

This is what makes the RIMOWA x RTFKT drop that took place yesterday so interesting, and why I bought a piece of virtual luggage for $3,500.

Okay, the time has come — let’s talk about virtual luggage.

This month RTFKT put together a collab with RIMOWA, one of the most iconic luggage brands in the world, and what they’re doing together I think represents an entirely new way of releasing products.

Rather than just dropping an NFT of virtual luggage and leaving it at that, this drop is the merging of two worlds and I think in many ways setting the stage for what’s to come over the next few years. Just like RTFKT makes incredibly slick looking virtual shoes, they made a very cool piece of virtual luggage in partnership with RIMOWA…and it looks like this:

Only 888 NFTs of this digital luggage were released and they were offered at 2ETH which comes out to roughly $3,000 at the time of the drop. Before I go any further it’s important to note that RTFKT digital sneakers can sell on their own (i.e. as virtual sneakers alone) for price tags of over $100,000.

What makes this drop unique, as I alluded to above, is the combination of digital and physical collectibles. All owners of a digital piece of RIMOWA x RTFKT luggage will get a physical version as well, and given that regular RIMOWA luggage sells for $1,500 — an edition that has only 888 made, well should be worth quite a bit more than that.

On top of this — the limited edition luggage that RIMOWA will be providing to NFT owners will include an NFC chip that will link the physical suitcase to its digital twin. I think we’ll likely see this quickly become a standard when buying digital watches with physical twins and other collectibles sold in this Phygital process.

Given the price tags physical collectibles have seen over the last 100 years, it’s not hard to imagine the physical version of this limited edition luggage selling for $10,000+ and we’re likely to see auction houses like Sotheby’s pick these up once they ship.

Of course like all new things — there’s risk, lots of risk, but part of embracing the future means taking risks, and I’m okay with that. We are venturing into a brave new world, and just like smart phones, many people will say this world will never reach them — I know it will, it just takes time.