NEW YORK (AFP) – A pair of Nike Air Yeezy 1s worn by rapper Kanye West sold for $ 1.8 million (Singapore $ 2.4 million), triple the previous record for sneakers, Sotheby’s said on Monday. (April 26), like the rare goods market. sports shoes are skyrocketing.
The shoes broke the record for a pair of Nike Air Jordan 1s that sold for $ 615,000 in August 2020 at a Christie auction.
The record price for sneakers has been broken several times recently, as what was considered a niche market 10 years ago now attracts the interest of the general public and major collectors.
“The sale marks the highest publicly recorded price for a sneaker sale,” Sotheby’s said in a statement.
“The sale also marks the first pair of sneakers to exceed a million dollars,” he added.
Black high-top Yeezys were worn by West, 43, during the 2008 Grammy Awards while performing Hey Mama and Stronger.
The shoes, which were part of a collaboration between Nike and West, were prototypes and the resulting model did not go on sale until April 2009.
Solid investment?
The shoes were acquired by Rares, a sneaker investment market that allows users to invest in rare pairs of athletic shoes.
Individuals can buy shares in a pair, just like investors buy shares in a company.
Rares, launched in March by former football player Gerome Sapp, bought the Air Yeezy 1 through a private sale from sneaker collector Ryan Chang.
The sale price exceeded Sotheby’s estimate of $ 1 million.
“That was actually the grail of grails,” Sapp said.
The sneaker is expected to trade on the platform’s “stock exchange” for between US $ 15 and US $ 20 per share on June 16, he explained.
Sapp predicts the company will hold three or four IPO-like listings before then, including a pair of Nike Air Force 1s made in collaboration with rapper Jay-Z.
Before collaborating with West, Nike had named shoes only after famous athletes.
The Air Yeezy 1 was released, in limited edition in 2009, followed by the Air Yeezy 2 in 2012.
Most Air Yeezy 1s sell for between $ 2,000 and $ 4,000, depending on the model.
West initially partnered with Nike before switching to Adidas to create his own line.
Brahm Wachter, director of streetwear and new collectibles at Sotheby’s, said Monday’s price “speaks volumes for Kanye’s legacy as one of the most influential clothing and sneaker designers of our time, and the Yeezy franchise he has built. , which has become a titan of the industry ”. “.
The Yeezy sneakers generated nearly $ 1.7 billion in revenue in 2020, according to an internal note from UBS bank, reported by Bloomberg.
According to finance firm Cowen, the global resale market for collectible sneakers could be worth $ 30 billion by 2030.
The Michael Jordan Air Jordan 1 Highs that Christie’s sold in August were worn by the basketball legend during a 1985 exhibition game in Italy when he dunked the ball so hard it broke the backboard.
That sale broke a record set in May 2020 when a pair of Air Jordan 1s sold for $ 560,000.
Sotheby’s in Geneva announced Monday that it will auction several sneakers worn by basketball greats like Jordan, Kareem Abdul Jabbar and Stephen Curry.
The highlight of the May 1-12 sale will be a pair of Air Jordan 1s that Jordan wore during his debut season in the National Basketball Association from 1984 to 1985.