Adidas and Prada team up for open-metaverse NFT collaboration

Right on the heels of the duo’s Re-Nylon collection drop, Adidas and Prada have unveiled a new collaboration, this time taking to the metaverse.

In what is now the third edition of their partnership, the sportswear brand and luxury label have introduced the new Re-source project, consisting of a non-fungible token (NFT) collaboration that will feature both user-generated and creator-owned art.

The project asks their audiences to contribute anonymous photographs using a filter designed by digital artist, Zach Lieberman. Through random selection, 3,000 sourced ‘artworks’ will be chosen to be minted as NFTs and ultimately turned into a single mass-patchwork NFT designed by Lieberman himself.

A total of 1,000 spots will be reserved for owners of the Adidas Originals Into the Metaverse NFT, with a further 500 reserved for those who attempted to mint the Adidas NFTs but failed.

The Adidas NFT project launched in December 2021, selling around 30,000 digital artworks to over 21,000 buyers.

Those involved in the Prada x Adidas project will be able to access the minted version of their photograph as an NFT from January 26 to 27.

A cultural shift towards creator rights

Participation in the collaborative project is free and contributors will maintain full ownership rights over their submitted artworks, also gaining the ability to sell their NFT on the secondary market.

Individuals will be rewarded for their participation in the open-metaverse project with a percentage of the final artworks sale, which the companies have said: “Represents a cultural shift towards creator rights which is core to the crypto arts movement.”

Lieberman’s final NFT will be put up for auction through the digital marketplace, SuperRare, with the majority of the auction’s proceeds going towards nonprofit Slow Factory. The organisation works towards providing education to establish inclusive communities. The final artwork will also be displayed as a large-scale digital installation at selected Prada and Adidas flagships worldwide.

The duo has already stated in a release that they plan to continue building on this momentum, alongside Punks Comic and Bored Ape Yacht Club, in further exploration of the two brand’s existing in the virtual world.