American ace rapper and entrepreneur, Kanye West’s ‘Yeezy’ sneakers are likely to become the most expensive sneakers ever sold.
The sneakers, which were the prototypes for the Yeezy line, have just popped;up for private sale at the popular auction house, Sotheby’s, with a jaw-dropping estimate in excess of 1 million dollars.
Developed by the rapper and Mark Smith for Nike, the kicks are billed as the;most valuable sneakers to ever appear at the storied auction house and will be offered to start next Monday.
The kicks, which come courtesy of New York collector, Ryan Chang, will likely;become the most expensive sneakers ever sold by Sotheby’s. The auction house previously auctioned a pair of 1985 Air Jordan 1 sneakers, designed for;and worn by NBA ‘demigod’ Michael Jordan, for what was then a world-record sum of 560,000 dollars.
Meanwhile, the Nike Air Yeezy samples will be on display at the;Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre from April 16 through 21. According to a statement by Sotheby’s, they called on all interested sneakerheads to submit offers directly to Sotheby’s. They also admonished such buyers to “run, don’t walk”.
Kanye premiers ‘Yeezy’s’ at the Grammys
It is worth noting that the multiple Grammy-award-winning artist actually;premiered the shoes on stage at the 2008 Grammys, where he performed;his smash hits ‘Hey Mama’ and ‘Stronger’ and then;claimed four of the awards on that night. In the years that followed, West famously;collaborated with Nike for ‘myriad Air Yeezy’ releases before landing a multi-year deal with Adidas in 2013. Now a global phenomenon, the Yeezy brand of sneakers brought in roughly 1.7 billion dollars in sales in 2020 as reported by Forbes.
Brahm Wachter, head of streetwear and modern collectibles at Sotheby’s, in a statement, said: “This pair is critical to the development of the Yeezy franchise, which has become one of the most important sneakers and lifestyle brands in history.
“Debuted on-stage at the Grammys in 2008, the sneakers set off waves in the sneaker community as people tried to identify the mysterious pair. Afterward, we saw a series of collaborations between Kanye and Nike, and then later the birth of his line with Adidas”.
Nonetheless, the original Nike Air Yeezy signifies a critical moment in sneaker design, as the kicks were created for an artist rather than an athlete and had an entirely new silhouette. They also originated the coveted ‘Yeezy’ line.
These particular size 12 sneakers, which were created in Nike’s “Innovation Kitchen” in Oregon, feature a soft black leather upper with perforated detailing. They sport a tonal Swoosh on the overlay, along with a Yeezy forefoot strap and the label’s signature ‘Y’ medallion lace locks in pink. The sneakers will also come housed in a custom wooden box emblazoned with a design by Smith.
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