Sudden Passing of Digital Fashion Pioneer
Benoît Pagotto, the co-founder of digital fashion studio RTFKT, has passed away at age 41. The news first emerged through Philippe Rodriguez, a French tech executive who shared word of Pagotto’s “sudden” passing on LinkedIn early Sunday in Paris. Rodriguez described Pagotto as “super creative, discreet and humble,” noting he was “passionate but always reasonable.” He added that Pagotto “believed that beauty could change the world.”
The crypto community responded quickly with tributes flooding social media platforms. RTFKT co-founder Steven Vasilev commented on the news, writing that “the vision, mission and inspiration [Benoît] gave to the world will live on forever.”
Remembering a Complex Creative Force
Former RTFKT CTO Samuel Cardillo offered a more personal remembrance, describing Pagotto as “a grumpy Parisian cliché, an asshole and genius” who spoke his mind “without filters.” Cardillo called him “a unique human being” and expressed hope that his friend would “respawn as a badass mean crow.”
Bored Ape Yacht Club co-founder Greg Solano, known online as Garga.eth, shared his own memories of Pagotto as “one of the kindest, funniest people I met in crypto.” Solano recalled how Pagotto offered help “when we were nobodies” and remained genuine even after achieving success. He said he would miss Pagotto’s “big, boisterous laugh you could hear from across a restaurant.”
Building a Digital Fashion Empire
Pagotto played a crucial role in merging luxury design, gaming, and crypto culture through RTFKT. Founded in 2020 with Chris Le and Steven Vasilev, the studio became one of the defining digital-asset brands of the last bull market cycle. Their rise to prominence came through virtual sneakers and collectibles, most notably the Clone X × Takashi Murakami series.
The company’s success attracted attention from major brands, leading to Nike’s acquisition of RTFKT in December 2021. Under Pagotto’s creative direction, the studio explored physical-linked NFTs and digital drops that connected sneaker culture with on-chain identity.
Recent Challenges and Legacy
Despite Nike beginning to wind down RTFKT operations late last year, Pagotto continued to speak publicly on behalf of the brand. The studio faced several challenges in recent months, including a cloud-hosting failure in April that temporarily disrupted images for several Ethereum-based collections. This incident highlighted how centralized dependencies affected the permanence RTFKT had promised.
In the same month, RTFKT and Nike faced a $5 million class-action lawsuit from NFT holders who accused the company of misleading buyers about the long-term value of their tokens. The complaint alleged that Nike promoted RTFKT’s NFTs as premium investments, then abandoned them by shutting down the studio and ending support.
At the time of writing, no official obituary or civil registry notice has appeared in the French press, and the cause of death has not been disclosed. Pagotto’s passing leaves a significant void in the digital fashion and Web3 communities, where his creative vision and personal authenticity made a lasting impact.
