Corteiz Rules The World (CRTZ) is a London-based streetwear brand founded in 2017 by British-Nigerian entrepreneur Clint Ogbenna, professionally known as Clint 419. The brand's logo features

Alcatraz Alcatraz Island () is a small island about 1.25 miles offshore from San Francisco in San Francisco Bay, California, near the Golden Gate Strait. The island was developed in the mid-19th century with facilities for a lighthouse, a military fo ...

, the former prison island. The clothes also feature the tagline "Rules The World".

History

Corteiz was founded in 2017. It first launched a limited collection of screen-printed t-shirts and crewnecks featuring the Alcatraz logo. The logo is symbolic of the brand's main message, which is rebellion against convention. The brand has since then expanded its product offering including tracksuits, shoes and bags. Corteiz has a

Instagram Instagram is an American photo sharing, photo and Short-form content, short-form video sharing social networking service owned by Meta Platforms. It allows users to upload media that can be edited with Social media camera filter, filters, be ...

account and a website that is only accessible using a password. Corteiz is known for its use of

guerilla marketing Guerrilla marketing is an advertisement Advertising is the practice and techniques employed to bring attention to a Product (business), product or Service (economics), service. Advertising aims to present a product or service in term ...

strategies. In 2021, Corteiz launched their tshirt in

Soho SoHo, short for "South of Houston Street, Houston Street", is a neighborhood in Lower Manhattan, New York City. Since the 1970s, the neighborhood has been the location of many artists' lofts and art galleries, art installations such as The Wall ...

. Customers would exchange their metro tickets for the limited Corteiz Tshirt. In 2022, the brand launched 'Da Great Bolo Exchange '. The brand's founder Clint via Twitter (now X) invited Corteiz customers to swap their jackets from high-end brands such as

The North Face The North Face is an American outdoor recreation products company. The North Face produces outdoor clothing, footwear, and related equipment. Founded in 1968 to supply climbers, the company's logo draws inspiration from Half Dome, a distinct ...

Moncler Moncler S.p.A. is an Italian luxury fashion brand specialized in ready-to-wear outerwear headquartered in Milan, Italy. Its core branding includes the Rooster#Terminology, cockerel, "M" monogram, felt appliqué badge, crossed skis and cartoon duc ...

, Supreme,

Canada Goose The Canada goose (''Branta canadensis''), sometimes called Canadian goose, is a large species of goose with a black head and neck, white cheeks, white under its chin, and a brown body. It is native to the arctic and temperate regions of North A ...

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Arc'teryx Arc'teryx is a Canadian apparel company specializing in outdoor apparel and equipment headquartered in North Vancouver, British Columbia. It focuses on technical apparel for mountaineering and Alpine sports, including related accessories. The com ...

and Palace, for the new Corteiz Bolo jacket. The jackets collected were donated to the homeless. In 2022, Corteiz held the '99p Market Stall' pop-up to sell their new cargos for 99 pence. The requirement was that customers show up with exactly 99p and no change would be given. Over two thousand people show up to the location. In 2024, Corteiz launched the 'DA GREAT DENIM EXCHANGE' in

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

. The brand invited customer to exchange their jeans from brands like Levi’s 501s,

True Religion True Religion Brand Jeans is an American clothing company established in 2002 by Jeff Lubell and fashion designer Kym Gold and is based in Vernon, California. Overview True Religion brand designer jeans are manufactured from premium denim. ...

Carhartt Carhartt, Inc. is an American clothing company founded in 1889, known for heavy-duty work wear such as jackets, coats, overalls, coveralls, vests, shirts, jeans, dungarees, fire-resistant clothing and hunting apparel. Carhartt remains a family-owne ...

jeans and Carpenters,

Tommy Hilfiger Thomas Jacob Hilfiger ( ; born March 24, 1951) is an American fashion designer and the founder of Tommy Hilfiger (company), Tommy Hilfiger Corporation. After starting his career by co-founding a chain of jeans/fashion stores called People's P ...

Polo Ralph Lauren Ralph Lauren Corporation is an American public company, publicly traded fashion and lifestyle brand founded in 1967 by Ralph Lauren in New York City. The company markets products in apparel, home, accessories, and fragrances, and is most known ...

Calvin Klein Calvin Richard Klein (born November 19, 1942) is an American fashion designer. In 1968, he launched the company that later became Calvin Klein. In addition to clothing, he has also given his name to a range of perfumes, watches, and jewellery. ...

, Supreme,

, Palace, and AMIRI for the denim corteiz jeans. Only 250 pieces of the Corteiz denim were available for exchange. In 2021,

Nike Nike often refers to: * Nike, Inc., a major American producer of athletic shoes, apparel, and sports equipment * Nike (mythology), a Greek goddess who personifies victory Nike may also refer to: People * Nike (name), a surname and feminine giv ...

sued Corteiz and the owner Clint. The lawsuit was because the brand's name was similar to the

Nike Cortez Nike Cortez is the first track shoe released by Nike in 1972, and is therefore thought to be a significant aspect to the success of the company. The Nike Cortez was first designed by Nike co-founder Bill Bowerman,Nike Nike often refers to: * Nike, Inc., a major American producer of athletic shoes, apparel, and sports equipment * Nike (mythology), a Greek goddess who personifies victory Nike may also refer to: People * Nike (name), a surname and feminine giv ...

to release the Nike Air Max 95. The sneaker was released in three colorways, Gutta Green, Pink Beam and Aegean Storm, which were exclusively released in London, New York and Paris. That same year, Corteiz joined forces with the streetwear brand Supreme to launch a collection of t-shirts and hoodies.

Awards and nominations

Corteiz was nominated for the 2023

Fashion Awards Fashion is a term used interchangeably to describe the creation of clothing, footwear, Fashion accessory, accessories, cosmetics, and jewellery of different cultural aesthetics and their mix and match into Clothing, outfits that depict distinct ...

under the New Establishment – Menswear category.

References

{{Reflist Clothing brands of the United Kingdom British clothing Clothing retailers of England Clothing companies based in London Clothing companies established in 2017 2017 establishments in England