The embrace of all manner of aspects of Web3 and blockchain strategy is continuing among the world’s premier apparel brands – and on 31^st August, it was the sportswear giant Adidas that stepped forward with its launch of a milestone digital artist in residency programme. 

The scheme is titled simply ‘Residency by Adidas’, and is a product of the manufacturer’s Three Stripes Studio, which is also often expressed in text as ‘/// Studio’. 

That studio was itself only announced as recently as January, with the intention that it would oversee the German corporation’s Web3 initiatives. 

The ostensible aim behind ‘Residency by Adidas’ is to give digital artists from around the globe the opportunity to put the spotlight on their work and to work closely with Adidas, encompassing both digital and physical products. 

It is also anticipated that the featured artists will be involved in drops of limited-edition NFTs. These drops will reportedly be limited to a mere 100 works per artist, with a price tag of 0.15 ETH (around £195 or $245), and only attendees of the Korean Blockchain Week conference in Seoul will be able to purchase them. 

‍What else should observers know about ‘Residency by Adidas’? 

‍Vogue Business reported that the residency programme’s first sale was expected to open on 6^th September, coinciding with the event in the South Korean capital. 

The outlet said that four Adidas-commissioned NFT artworks would be showcased, having been created by the residency’s first participating artists – namely the Tokyo-based MonkeeMoto and the Lebanese artist Adra Kandi, the latter also known as Dear Nostalgia. 

This latest project by Adidas does not represent the German brand’s first venture into NFTs; it will, however, be the first time the sportswear titan has put on a sale of limited-edition art. Two hundred pieces are expected to be sold in the limited-edition sale – 100 from each artist – and each one will be accompanied by a physical hoodie bearing the Three Studios logo. 

An open-edition sale is set to take place, too. This will involve NFT art being made available at ETH 0.03 (approximately £40 or $50), without the inclusion of the physical hoodie.

 “Another big step for our Studio” 

The Three Stripes Studios’ global head of communications and activation, Stacey King, declared in a news release that the residency programme represented “another big step for our Studio as we continue to explore, experiment, and diversify our impact and value in the Web3 community.” 

She said that the studio had been encouraged to go “all in” with its engagement of Web3 artists by the positive response the brand had experienced to previous open editions in Berlin and New York. Those previous NFTs had been digital artworks created with the sportswear corporation and sold as NFTs in unlimited numbers, to coincide with Web3 conferences during the spring. 

Ms King further stated that there were plans for digital, physical, and linked drops to follow, in parallel to Adidas’ ongoing Web3 fashion initiative, ‘Alts by Adidas’ (which the latest announced residency scheme is not a part of). 

It seems that when it comes to all things Web3 and blockchain strategy, then, many a brand is currently feeling seriously inspired. If that sounds like the kind of aspiration your organisation in the luxury, lifestyle, or fashion space also has, please do not hesitate to ask for a conversation with Skywire London’s own proven and skilled strategic and digital experts.