Did Nike Really Rip-Off Satisfy MothTech?

Mothman Prophecies

As a runner who may or may not have chewed on the remnants of notebook paper as a child, I like my shirts eaten, preferably by moths. Which is why I lean towards Satisfy’s MothTech ventilation when I’m looking for a shotgun-style hole pattern on a cotton t-shirt for all my running needs in the 50-52 degree Fahrenheit temperature range. (Look, it’s a very specific use-case scenario, but for that one morning in late April, I go full devil-wears-Strava for my run and it absolutely kills.)

If you’re new to running, or a peasant who can only afford Lululemon, then you may be unfamiliar with Satisfy MothTech. In short, it’s a very specific cotton t-shirt ventilation system pioneered by Satisfy, a Parisian boutique run apparel brand that essentially spearheaded the run fashion ethos of today. In short, MothTech is a bunch of holes in a cotton t-shirt, pre-distressed, like me about to go on a run after eating the Chick-fil-A spicy chicken sandwich meal the night before. Anyway, it looks like this (not an affiliate link!).

When you see it, you know it, which is what the trail runner with $140 to spend on a cotton tee wants you to know, in case you didn’t notice the pair of Norda on his feet or the Oakley Eye Jackets on his face.

So if you were to see a runner behind with that very obvious MothTech pattern, you’d think: “Oh, that guy knows his run culture. Or maybe he’s a finance bro. Or maybe he’s paying 20% interest on a credit card for a ratty-ass looking tee so he can cosplay living in a double-wide trailer with five satellite dishes on the roof.”

What you definitely wouldn’t think is: That guy is wearing a Nike Dri-Fit tee.

Except he just may be, because Nike has pulled their best Skechers move and has appeared to copy the smart kid’s homework. As seen in the below Twitter post, Nike’s newest Dri-Fit tee features a certain running tee with very similar hole patterning to Satisfy’s MothTech. Coming in at $100, the tee is priced significantly higher than others with the Dri-Fit designation, which range from $35 to $65. It’s even priced higher than the Aeroswift tee ($90), part of the premium, race-ready peformance line from Nike.

Now, as everyone knows, not all holes are made the same; except in this case, they kind of are. It looks accidental, but at the same time, it looks strategic. Allegedly. Any runner knows exactly what it looks like, and it would be an absolute shock if someone designing run apparel at Nike had never seen a Satisfy MothTech tee. 

Now, Nike is no stranger to coyly releasing things that kind of look like other things. Just this past fall, they released a singlet for the 2024 Chicago Marathon featuring a design that looked extremely similar to a one-off design that artist Greg Itahara made a year before for someone running the 2023 Chicago Marathon. 

There is no evidence that they ripped off Itahara’s design, but if you have eyes, then… I mean, come on.

In regards to Nike’s Temu MothTech (as one Instagram commenter described it), their own shotgun-style patterning meant shots were fired, if not literally, then for sure metaphorically. And Satisfy volleyed back.

In a full-on press release, Satisfy said: 

“We were surprised to see a product from Nike surface that closely mirrors our distinctive design. To clarify, SATISFY has no involvement in this project.

The design appears to draw heavily from our signature MothTech™ aesthetic, which is disappointing to see from a major corporation known to defend its own image and intellectual property so fiercely.”

And it’s true, Nike is incredibly litigious when it comes to their intellectual property (as are all billion dollar companies). And good luck to anyone who takes them to court. May your pockets be deep with cash and your lawyers be paid in gold bullion. 

Satisfy continued: “Designed in 2015 by Founder and Creative Director Brice Partouche, MothTech™ isn’t just another running shirt, it represents the genesis of SATISFY’s DNA. It crystallizes the intersection of culture, performance, and functionality, serving as the foundation for our disruptive approach to redefining running culture.”

I mean, I’m not sure I would go so far as to write a hagiography about MothTech “crystallizing” run culture, but it for sure is identifiable to only one running brand out there, and that brand is Satisfy. 

It’ll be interesting to see what Nike does, or what action Satisfy takes, but at the very least, it can’t hurt Satisfy in the short term. Any press is good press, and people love to treat Nike as the bad guy, so for Satsify, making $280 Cloudmerino t-shirts and coming out on top as a triumph for the underdog is a win all around. 

Me, on the other hand, I’m just the weirdo in the neighborhood hanging his shirts on my porch light in the summertime, hoping that I wake up to a half-eaten piece of cotton each morning. Instead, they keep getting stolen by the same guys swiping my car manuals. Maybe I can pay them to wear it around for a few months and return it, all beaten up and torn to shreds from falling into the sidewalk. 

FenTech has a nice ring to it.