Today, it feels that many streetwear brands follow the same playbook. Design a seasonal collection, slot an online release date, hold physical pop-ups to promote the collection, and then continue selling items via stockists or other retail partners. Corteiz does things differently.
The British streetwear label founded by 28-year-old Clint Ogbenna, who simply goes by Clint, has employed unconventional guerilla marketing tactics and release methods to skyrocket to the top of the streetwear food chain since its start in 2017.
Over the past decade, the brand’s logo of Alcatraz Island has blown up and is now spotted on the back of stylish young individuals, UK rap stars such as Central Cee, and football legends like Ronaldihno. The momentum has even captured the attention of world-renowned brands like Nike, who has collaborated with Corteiz on numerous pairs of Air Max 95s and Air Trainer Huaraches since 2023. The rapid ascent has materialized into $58 million in revenue in 2024, according to The New York Times.
So how did Corteiz become the best streetwear brand right now? Here is Everything You Need to Know About Corteiz.
Corteiz's Humble Beginnings
Before Clint launched Corteiz in 2017, he launched a streetwear label called Cade when he was 19 years old with his friend, Ade Sanusi. The brand was a flash in the pan and shuttered by the end of 2017. But, Cade did get some traction during its short lifespan. It was worn by prominent British street style influencers like Gully Guy Leo and, according to an interview in Time Out, Clint said his first release was featured in a short film by ASAP Rocky. Cade’s old Twitter account points out that Dexter Navy captured the label shooting its first lookbook within one of the bird’s-eye shots featured in the music video for “Money Man/Put That On My Set,” which was filmed in London.
It’s unknown why Cade folded and what exactly led Clint to launch Corteiz shortly after. However, when Clint was asked in his Time Out interview if being in London helped him launch a brand, he credited being a part of a group of creatives called Apex. “We were just hanging with each other," Clint told Time Out, "being ourselves, and other kids bought into it. We built up quite a big online following."
Corteiz's Social Media
Corteiz’s social media pages were originally private. New customers could only learn about the brand’s latest releases if their “follow” requests were accepted by Clint.
The brand's first Instagram post was in September 2017, a picture of three screen-printed hoodies with the brand’s now-iconic logo of Alcatraz Island. As screenshotted in a TikTok video, Clint said Corteiz’s logo represents how living in society feels like a prison and Corteiz is about “escaping from the societal restraints that we’ve grown up with to pursue what you really want to do.”
Clint said the brand’s first drop only sold 16 hoodies. Nearly two years after he launched Corteiz, he made a post on his personal Instagram detailing how his brand grew from 50 followers to 10,000 in just 18 months.
“Account was on private 95% of the time for the last 18 months. Only way to find it was via someone you knew. No explore page. No seeding. No paid for ads. No Pumplex Article, No Nothing. Just Us. Followers ain’t everything either, its just 1 indicator of progress. But if you fill a room with 50 and fill a room with 10,000 you’ll feel the difference.”
Today, the brand currently has 232,600 followers on X and 1.6 million followers on Instagram.
How Do Your Pronounce Corteiz?
To this day, the correct pronunciation of the brand is up for debate. Some say "cor-TAYZ." Others prefer "cor-TEEZ." You may even get "cortez." Clint told The New York Times, "say it how you feel."
The brand has used the confusion to its advantage. Back in March 2024, it dropped a cheeky video featuring various individuals pronouncing the brand in a handful of ways. Ultimately, it's just another wrinkle that has kept Corteiz in top of mind.
The Pieces
The brand’s initial offerings consisted mostly of logo items like T-shirts, sweatsuits, and beanies. Prices ranged from £12 for a pair of socks and up to £300 for their puffer “Bolo” jackets. As the brand has grown, its offering has consistently improved (and become a bit easier to buy).
The logo sweats and tees are still there, but now they sit alongside more thoughtful cut and sew items like embossed denim, satin souvenir jackets, and leather coats. True to its UK roots, you can always expect a well-executed flip of a classic football kit in the mix as well.
Along the way, the brand has worked with its peers in streetwear that have ranged from other industry leaders like Supreme to emerging labels like Atlanta's 74IsWar.
The Pop-Ups
What has always made Corteiz more captivating than the average streetwear brand is its ability to build actual crowds for its in-person releases. Its real life drops are more like scavenger hunts where the prize is cheaper (sometimes even free) Corteiz. Like its online drops, the location and time of these limited releases is vaguely unveiled before the release. On drop day, Corteiz will share GPS coordinates to point out exactly where the drop is. What ensues are essentially flash mobs full of eager fans.
One of Corteiz’s biggest early drops gave followers a chance to purchase a pair of its black cargo pants for just 99p (99 cents). Footage shared on YouTube vlogs and TikToks showed fans nearly trampling each other for the chance to buy these pants. On numerous occasions, Clint has shed light on a new design through exchanges. Fans trade in their existing jacket or pair of jeans and are gifted a brand new replacement by Corteiz.
The Nike releases have caused pandemonium in major cities. Clint's peddled his sneaker collabs out of makeshift bodegas, Corteiz-ified school classrooms, and given fans a chance to win a pair of Air Maxes if they can hit the crossbar on a soccer net.
The brand's most memorable pop-ups to date were its series of one-day activations across New York, Atlanta, Washington D.C., and Los Angeles in 2025. Each space matched the landscape of its host city, a subway car in New York City or Magic City in Atlanta. There were also exclusive collabs with local streetwear brands like Denim Tears and Barriers, that were available for one-day only.
No matter what it is selling or what city it is activating in, Corteiz brings out youthful crowds by the hundreds.
Growing an Organic Community
Early on, the brand threw parties headlined by rising rappers like Sam Wise. Today, nearly every British rapper, from Stormzy to Central Cee, has been spotted wearing Corteiz’s garments. Even British artists like Jorja Smith and Ed Sheeran have repped the brand. But it isn't just UK's music scene. We've seen the brand worn by huge stars like Drake, collaborate with fellow UK creative Slawn, spotlight football legends like Mario Balotelli and Ronaldihno in campaigns, and link up with streetwear legends like Virgil Abloh and Nigo.
Although it may seem like Corteiz is another brand just juiced up by what one may assume to be celebrity gifting or nepotistic connections, Clint has always been adamant about never seeding his product. When Corteiz grew to 20,000 followers in 2020, he tweeted, “No sponsored ads, no free clothes, no ass lickin celebs, and most of all, no bullshit blogs.”
It isn't all about celebrity supporters. Corteiz's real ascent is due to the continuous loyalty of the youthful streetwear scene. Like Abloh before him, Clint has always done his best to remain available to his audience and engages with them periodically through his X page. In 2024, he even hosted a design contest that allowed aspiring designers to submit a 10-piece collection. The winner was given £5,000.
The Nike Deal
In January 2023, Corteiz unveiled a surprising teaser that captured its Alcatraz Island logo being projected alongside Nike’s swoosh on the facade of Niketown London. It was the most mainstream endorsement the once-underground streetwear label had received up to that point. Ironically, Corteiz was sued by Nike in 2021 because of how similar the brand’s name was to one of Nike’s most popular sneaker silhouettes: the Cortez. The result of that lawsuit was that Nike asked Clint to pay up £1,850 ($2,295). Clearly, the lawsuit just became water under the bridge and didn’t damage any future talks of a major link-up.
Two months after the announcement, the Corteiz x Nike Air Max 95 finally released. Three city-exclusive colorways released through pop-ups across London, Paris, and New York City. Led by London's "Gutta Green" color scheme, the trio was considered one of the biggest collabs of the year. Corteiz followed it up in 2024 with multiple pairs of a much more unorthodox silhouette, the Air Flight Huarache. While they didn't reach the same levels of hype, they were still celebrated, thanks to Clint's inventive activations. Corteiz's most recent sneaker release was the "Honey Black" Air Max 95 from 2025. The Corteiz x Nike relationship has also grown to include apparel like reflective tracksuits and jerseys. The UK label has become one of the Swoosh's most important young collaborators.
The Biggest Streetwear Brand in the World
Now entering its ninth year, Corteiz has become one of the most known streetwear brands in the world. We even named it the best streetwear brand of 2025, thanks in large part to its memorable pop-ups across the United States and another hit sneaker collab in the form of the "Honey Black" Air Max 95. All of the viral moments and coveted pieces are turning into dollar signs. According to The New York Times, Clint's label raked in $58 million in revenue in 2024. It isn't just a tagline anymore. Corteiz is on a path to ruling the streetwear world.