ASICS is announcing the ASICS SUNRISE RED™ NFT COLLECTION – a first-of-its-kind footwear release that will be available via digital auction starting on July 15th 2021.
Instead of attempting to dissect this any further, I’m sharing the information directly from the press release, below and I’m doing a video, that’s one part question, and I hope someone answers, and one part, “Let me see if I’m breaking this ish down correctly.” Here we go:
The 189-piece ASICS SUNRISE RED™ NFT COLLECTION consists of nine different ASICS digital footwear products – including the GEL-LYTE™ III, GEL-QUANTUM 360™, METARACER™ models and even a pair of ASICS flip-flops and sandals. The nine shoes will be featured in a Limited Edition release made up of 20 NFTs per shoe, and a Gold Edition release featuring each shoe in a metallic gold colorway with just one NFT per shoe.
The launch of the ASICS SUNRISE RED™ NFT COLLECTION signals the start of a landmark new venture for ASICS as it moves into the world of NFTs. Auction proceeds will be reinvested back into the digital arts community through ASICS’ new Digital Goods Artist-In-Residence Program, which will see the brand collaborate with both established and emerging digital artists to design the next wave of NFTs.
In providing these artists with a platform to showcase their talent on a global stage, ASICS will invite them to draw on their own sense of creativity and artistry to create digital products that bring to life ASICS’ ‘Sound Mind, Sound Body’ philosophy in the digital space.
Joe Pace, Head of Business Development, ASICS Running Apps, commented: “At ASICS we strive to be at the forefront of innovation in the sporting goods sector. So, while we are excited to drop the world’s first digital shoe release from a major sporting goods company, this is only the beginning. In coming together with some of the most creative and forward-thinking digital artists in the world through our new Artist-in-Residence program, our long-term vision is to push the boundaries of digital goods to inspire physical activity.”
All ASICS SUNRISE RED™ NFT COLLECTION owners will receive digital 3D models and textures of their NFT shoes to use in animation projects and other applications, including the Metaverse. All owners of the Gold Edition shoes and the #1 of 20 from the Limited Edition release will also be gifted a future NFT from designers selected for the Artist-in-Residence program.
The auction will be held on OpenSea.io, starting at 12pm EST on Thursday July 15th and ending at 12pm ET on July 19th 2021. For more information, visit nft.asics.com.
ASICS SUNRISE RED™ NFT COLLECTION
Okay, to participate in the Open Sea marketplace you need a MetaMask account and a digital wallet with cryptocurrency. It appears that Open Sea works with ETH. Here is a video explaining the process of setting up an account:
To make sure you have a comparison, because I needed one, here is a link to a company I discussed here on the site before RTFKT: StormRider RTFKT X NZXT by GuiMarconi – RTFKT Creators | OpenSea
On this page you can clearly see an U.S. dollar amount associated with the drop. Let’s create a dialogue about this. As an older sneaker business analyst who is still on the sneaker culture side of things as well, I know that we all need to have a better understanding of what’s happening here as it will be critical for sneaker fans to be invested in this side of the biz as brands recognize that creating sneakers isn’t good for the environment. Collections will definitely become digital and trading and sharing collections will take place in marketplaces featuring crypto. Rght?
