In short
- Mates and collaborators described Pagotto as “tremendous artistic” and “discreet and humble.”
- RTFKT cofounder Steven Vasilev and BAYC’s Greg Solano have been amongst those that paid tribute on-line.
- Pagotto helped construct RTFKT into considered one of digital style’s most influential manufacturers earlier than Nike acquired it in 2021.
Benoît Pagotto, co-founder of the digital style studio RTFKT, has reportedly handed away on the age of 41, in accordance with colleagues’ confirmations.
Philippe Rodriguez, a French tech govt and longtime affiliate, first shared phrase of Pagotto’s “sudden” passing on LinkedIn early Sunday in Paris.
Pagotto was “tremendous artistic, discreet and humble,” and was “passionate however all the time affordable,” a translation of Rodriguez’s put up reads.
“He believed that magnificence might change the world,” Rodriguez wrote.
Tributes from shut pals and associates shortly stuffed the crypto Twitter sphere.
RTFKT co-founder Steven Vasilev commented on the information on X, writing that “the imaginative and prescient, mission and inspiration [Benoît] gave to the world will dwell on perpetually.”
Former RTFKT CTO Samuel Cardillo remembered Pagotto as “a grumpy Parisian cliché, an asshole and genius” who spoke his thoughts “with out filters.” To Cardillo, Pagotto was “a novel human being,” including that he hoped his expensive good friend would “respawn as a badass imply crow.”
Bored Ape Yacht Membership co-founder Greg Solano, identified on-line as Garga.eth, wrote that Pagotto was “one of many kindest, funniest folks I met in crypto,” recalling how he provided assist “after we have been nobodies” and stayed real even after success. Solano added that he would miss Pagotto’s “large, boisterous snigger you may hear from throughout a restaurant.”
Defining moments
Recognized for merging luxurious design, gaming, and crypto tradition, Pagotto helped remodel RTFKT into one of many defining digital-asset manufacturers of the final bull run. Based in 2020 with Chris Le and Vasilev, the studio rose to prominence by digital sneakers and collectibles, together with the Clone X × Takashi Murakami sequence.
Nike acquired RTFKT in December 2021, and beneath Pagotto’s artistic path, it explored physical-linked NFTs and digital drops that bridged sneaker tradition with on-chain id. Though Nike started winding down RTFKT operations late final yr, Pagotto continued to talk publicly on behalf of the model.
In April, photographs for a number of of its Ethereum-based collections briefly disappeared after a cloud-hosting failure disrupted off-chain storage hyperlinks.
The problem, later described by RTFKT’s then–chief of expertise Cardillo as a “short-term infrastructure drawback,” uncovered how centralized dependencies undercut the permanence RTFKT as soon as promised.
In the identical month, RTFKT and its guardian firm have been hit with a $5 million class-action lawsuit from NFT holders who accused Nike of deceptive patrons in regards to the long-term worth of their tokens.
The federal criticism alleged that Nike touted RTFKT’s NFTs as premium investments, then deserted them by shutting down the studio and ending help, amounting to what plaintiffs known as a “gentle rug pull.”
Decrypt has reached out to Nike, RTFKT’s cofounders, and shut associates for affirmation and remark.
On the time of writing, Decrypt has not recognized any official obituary or civil registry discover from the French press. The reason for demise has not been disclosed.
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