Adidas and BAPE Team for Ultra-Limited Sneakers With Digital Twins

Apparel brands Adidas Originals and BAPE have unveiled a limited-edition sneaker collaboration for the Triple-White Forum 84 BAPE Low, which will be auctioned off and paired with a “digital twin” NFT version of the kicks that can potentially be worn in the metaverse.

Supported by the Adidas /// Studio (Three Stripes Studio), the auction will be centered around redeemable NFTs via the Adidas Collect platform. While Adidas has previously launched multiple initiatives around NFTs, this is the first time that the brand will use an auction format for an NFT-driven drop.

Just 100 Ethereum NFTs, which can in turn be exchanged for one of 100 corresponding pairs of sneakers, will be made available.

The sneakers feature BAPE’s iconography via a shooting star motif on the lateral upper and the “A Bathing Ape” logo embossed in metallic silver foil. The white colorway, in contrast to previous camo iterations, is tied into a narrative hook around a “pristine laundrette, located in the heart of a mysterious desert.”

Each pair of kicks is equipped with an NFC chip, placed in the left tongue, which provides the owner with access to its NFT-based certificate of authenticity when scanned with a smartphone.

Once the access pass NFT is redeemed for the physical shoes, owners will also receive a “digital twin” Ethereum NFT that will be “interoperable” with Adidas’ ALTS avatar project, suggesting that owners will be able to wear their kicks in the metaverse too. Adidas previously teased that holders of its 19,500 tokens will be able to exchange their current incarnations for functional avatars.

Auction details

The Adidas Originals x BAPE “Fresh Forum” access pass NFT auction will begin on August 22 and run for 72 hours until August 25.

Holders of Adidas’ 2,298 ALT[er] Ego “Soles”—sneaker-specific traits that make up one of the eight ALTS NFT traits available—plus members of the BAPE: (B)APETAVERSE community will have a complimentary 10% premium added to their bidding price, giving them a bidder advantage. 

Bids can be placed according to shoe size, and while only one bid per size can be active at any one time, prospective purchasers can bid as many times as they want. According to Adidas, bidding starts at 0.3 ETH (about $550 at present) and there is no maximum bid.

The 100 winners of the Adidas Originals x BAPE NFT auction will be able to burn their tokens to redeem the physical sneakers and digital twin starting on September 26 via Adidas Collect, with shipping set to begin in October.

The launch is the third part of a collaboration celebrating BAPE’s 30th anniversary. Previous releases earlier this year included co-branded versions of the Forum Low with a camo motif.