ASICS is dropping its first NFT collection on the OpenSea marketplace, digitizing copies of some of its most popular shoes.
ASICS is becoming the first major sporting goods company to release a digital shoe. The Japanese multinational corporation has announced the release of its first collection comprising 189 NFTs that feature 20 “limited editions” GIF copies of popular shoes and nine “gold” one-of-a-kind editions, and two new designs that will be debuted in digital form.
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Customer favorites such as Gel-Lyte III, Gel-Quantum 360, Metaracer will also be included in the drop, together with flip-flops and sandals.
The ASICS Sunrise Red NFT Collection is already up for auction on the NFT Marketplace OpenSea since July 15, and it is set to run until July 19.
On a dedicated page, ASICS presents the NFT collection as a “celebration of sports and the inception of an idea to connect physical and digital activity.”
The Japanese company plans to release more merchandise in NFT form as part of a new program to promote a new generation of digital shoe artists, the ASICS Digital Goods Artist-in-Residence program. The first-of-its-kind initiative will provide financial investments to the artists in the form of partnerships valued at up to $250,000 each.
The move aligns with the brand’s “long-term vision to push the boundaries of digital goods to inspire physical activity,” ASICS explains in a recent announcement.
Proceeds from the ASICS Sunrise Red NFT Collection auction will fund the creation of new NFTs for the program. Artists who are selected to participate will also get to design bonus tokens given away together with the purchase of gold edition footwear.
Successful bidders will receive the minted 3D digital shoe in OBJ files and their texture in PNG to use in animation projects and other applications, although its most probable application will be dressing one’s avatar in their Metaverse of choice, effectively transferring the footwear experience from IRL to their immersive reality.
