What is Corteiz?
Corteiz (or simply CRTZ) is a premium streetwear brand like Benjart, with exclusive fast-selling drops like Trapstar, but don't be fooled - there is no other brand like it. The apparel is currently sold solely from one official website, and upcoming drops are only promoted organically via social media and by word of mouth. Yet the demand for items with the popular "CORTEIZ" inscription or the famous Alcatraz logo is through the roof! With each drop and every viral community event, the slogan "Rules The World" (RTW) seems less like a catchy tagline and increasingly more like a self-fulfilling prophecy. So, who is behind all of this?
The UK streetwear brand has been in the making since 2017 but to be completely honest, like many of you reading this, the brand has only stood out to me as of quite recently. This was somewhat by design. The intrinsic value of the Corteiz brand comes from a solid base of core supporters, a tight knit community that share a genuine love both for the brand and for the actual experiences tied to it. These experiences range from filtering through social media posts for the password to an upcoming drop, to racing through Central London in hopes of grabbing an exclusive tee, to thousands of people flooding into West London in a bid to get their hands on a pair of £1 blackout cargos.
So, who is behind all of this?
Who owns Corteiz?
Corteiz is owned by a guy named Clint. His social media handle is Clint419.
Clint is also the brand's Creative Director, responsible for all of the dope designs that have been released, and he is also widely perceived to be a marketing mastermind. It's worth noting, he doesn't have any formal qualifications in Fashion, Textiles or Marketing. He was born in May 1997 and is currently in his mid-twenties. North West London is where he is from but he also has strong ties to West.
To many, Clint seemingly popped up out of nowhere. A few in-the-know people may be aware of his first clothing line "CADE on the Map" which he co-founded with his friend Ade Sanusi at the age of 19, releasing their first collection in April 2016. The pair were a part of a London-based group of creatives called Apex. CADE built up a considerable online presence very quickly but the brand was discontinued within less than a year. Not long after, Clint started his own brand, Corteiz, from his bedroom in 2017. He started with crew necks and t-shirts and later started selling the first online products (sweatshirts emblazoned with the brand's name and Alcatraz logo) in March 2018.
Clint's 'Anti' Approach
Clint's attitude towards "the establishment" is quite clear: F**k 'em. While researching Corteiz, I couldn't help but laugh when I came across a Vogue article which read "Clint himself declined to speak with Vogue Business for this story and rarely speaks to press...".
My first thought was "You lot might be Vogue but you have no authority over what's going on over here." Then my next thought was, "A lot of man would have jumped at the opportunity to add a Vogue interview to their credentials. This guy's different." (Clint also requested Vogue remove his full name from their article which is why I don't use it.) To date, Clint has never done an official interview as the founder of Corteiz despite many of the biggest platforms in fashion and business reaching out.
He carefully balances his commanding presence within the culture with a calculated level of ambiguity and anonymity, which keeps his brand in the forefront, rather than his personal profile.
Clint's Cheat Code?
The recent success and rise in popularity of Corteiz may seem to some as though Clint had it made. After all, the brand is only four years old yet it has some of the most loyal and responsive followers ever seen in fashion. Not to mention we have been seeing the brand prominently featured in music videos by the likes of Dave and Central Cee, and casually donned by notable spices like Jorja Smith and Maya Jama. Unknown T attended and performed at Clint's "Big Fuck Off Party" last summer, where attendees received free Corteiz t-shirts.
We've seen pics of Clint chilling with the late iconic fashion designer Virgil Abloh. Virgil even gifted Clint a 1-of-1 Louis Vuitton jacket and wore Corteiz "Rules The World" socks to the Met Gala! Surely, Clint is a part of some exclusive inner circle which guarantees success and influence?
As easy as it would be to believe something like that, anyone who looks closely at the progression of Corteiz will likely find that all of the newfound success, high-profile support and mass hysteria around the brand can easily be explained away. Clint has worked hard, worked smart and remained true to principles that have kept his brand's integrity in tact.
He has openly detailed some of the struggles he had to face throughout his come up, such as avoiding bailiffs for months on end, being evicted from his home and having to rebuild a life for himself from his sister's sofa. On his first day active, Clint sold only 16 Alcatraz sweatshirts but, in his own words, he "felt like Blade Brown". If he wanted, once Corteiz built traction, Clint could have taken every request for a big interview, or could have done a retail partnership deal with a major retailer, or could have distributed his clothing for free to the UK music scene and influencers, or taken some other shortcut to mainstream exposure we see streetwear brands take all the time. Instead he has remained steadfast in his mission to build a top fashion label organically. The authenticity of Corteiz is refreshing, tangible and welcome in an age where "fake it till you make it" has long been the standard.
No Freebies? (Even for celebrities)
You may have heard that Clint does not gift Corteiz clothing to celebrities at all, they have to catch the drop like everyone else. I personally find that hard to believe, especially when considering he has gifted hundreds of pieces to his supporters and he definitely has genuine support from certain celebrities. I believe this myth stems from the fact that, unlike many other streetwear brands, Corteiz hasn't relied on randomly gifting products to influential figures for the sake of promotion. The brand has been much more organic in its approach, prioritising genuine supporters and authentic relationships. The official @CRTZ.RTW instagram page is private. Their official website is also password protected. Clear indications that the brand certainly is not desperate for exposure. Consumers seek value, it's that simple.
REJECTING RESELL CULTURE
In this age of rampant reselling, the limited access to each Corteiz drop creates the perfect layup for the resellers on platforms like Depop and Ebay who are able to get a hold of the highly coveted pieces at retail value. While premium streetwear brands like Trapstar and Supreme have embraced the culture of reselling deadstock items, Clint has openly thwarted resellers who buy Corteiz just for the sake of making a profit.
He has even gone as far as publicly cancelling orders made by individuals suspected of buying to resell. While the no-reselling rule is impossible to effectively enforce, Clint has masterfully maintained control of the narrative in regards to true members of the close-knit Corteiz community versus the outsiders, posers and wave riders, an unwelcome group with self-serving interests. A group in which he believes the resellers belong.
As a Vintage + Deadstock reseller myself, once I discovered Corteiz my natural instinct was to get a hold of some at retail value and get to reselling it on Depop. However, once I became aware of Clint's stance I had to give it a second thought. I know just how parasitic and damaging resell-culture can be both for brands as well as consumers. (I literally switched from Playstation to Xbox because of resellers effin up the PS5 supplies.) While I understand the logic of someone who buys Corteiz solely to resell it, I personally wouldn't want to partake in degrading the brand's integrity and defying the philosophy that makes up for so much of Corteiz's identity and value. If anything, I'll sell my personal pieces (used) when I'm ready to part ways with them.
UK street fashion has never witnessed anything even remotely comparable to the rise of Corteiz, and judging by the brand's performance, the world is in for a series of momentous experiences linked to the Alcatraz!
