Why Corteiz Started: Clint 419, 2017, And The Nike Lawsuit

£1,850

That is the number worth holding on to.

In 2021, Nike, a company whose annual revenue runs to tens of billions of dollars, brought action against a small London clothing label over the similarity between its name and Nike's Cortez line. The label's founder was ordered to pay £1,850.

Two years later, in 2023, Nike and that same label released a collaboration on the Air Max 95, with launches across London, New York and Paris, and a further colourway following in April 2025.

That is the whole story of Corteiz in two paragraphs, and it is one of the best things to happen to British independent fashion this decade.

London, 2017

Corteiz was founded in London in 2017 by Clint Ogbenna, British-Nigerian, known publicly as Clint 419.

The brand's full name is Corteiz Rules The World, shortened to CRTZ RTW, and its logo is the Alcatraz motif. That is a deliberate choice worth sitting with for a moment. Alcatraz is a prison, and choosing it as your mark says something specific about who you think you are talking to and what you think the system is. Most brands pick a symbol because it looks good on a hoodie. This one picked an argument.

The early years were quiet by design. No wholesale, no shops, no press push. Access to the brand's site has generally sat behind a password, opened around a release. If you were not already paying attention, the brand was effectively invisible to you, and that was the intention.

What Nike Actually Did

The dispute is often retold badly online, so it is worth stating what the record shows rather than the version that makes the better tweet.

In 2021 Nike brought action over the similarity between the Corteiz name and Nike's Cortez, a sneaker line that dates back to 1972. Clint was ordered to pay £1,850.

Two things about that figure. It is small enough that the money was plainly not the point for Nike. And it was survivable, which is the more important detail, because trademark actions against small brands usually end the small brand. Most founders in that position fold, rename, and disappear. The letter is the punishment.