Sneakers can Yeez-ily earn him $1 million
Two gems in Tiffany shoot
The sneakers that helped Kanye West become a billionaire are up for auction, with a record-breaking price tag.
The kicks, revealed in 2008 during his “Stronger” Grammy Awards performances, were the prototypes for the Yeezy line developed by West and Mark Smith for Nike.
Now they are going up for sale at Sotheby’s, valued in excess of $1 million.
On Monday, the New York Citybased auction house announced that the Nike Air Yeezy 1 Prototypes are being offered for private sale.
“This pair is critical to the development of the Yeezy franchise, which has become one of the most important sneaker and lifestyle brands in history,” Sotheby’s Head of Streetwear & Modern Collectables Brahm Wachter said with the announcement. “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..”
Joining more traditional collectible assets like art, jewelry and wine, sneakers have become huge collectors’ items in recent years.
Sotheby’s held its first auction dedicated entirely to sneakers in 2019.
Last May, the auction house sold a pair of 1985 Air Jordan 1’s, designed for and worn by basketball legend Michael Jordan, for what was then a world record $560, 000.
The soft black leather, size 12 Nike Air Yeezy 1 Prototypes with a Yeezy forefoot strap and the brand’s signature Y medallion lace locks in bright pink on them have been described by Sotheby’s as “among the most valuable sneakers ever brought to market.”
After West — a.k.a. the “greatest artist that God ever created” — wore them during the performance, the formidable footwear were later sold in a charity auction and are now being put up for sale at Sotheby’s by New York collector Ryan Chang.
“As a collector, I’ve always considered sneakers to be design objects — a physical confluence of artistry, history, and in this case, music,” Chang added. “The Air Yeezy Prototype is particularly special to me because it captured the cultural moment in 2008 so perfectly. There he was, Kanye West, on stage at the Grammys, winning 4 awards just that evening, and unveiling an incredibly important and iconic design in Nike’s storied history.”
West ended his collaboration with Nike in 2013 and took the Yeezy brand to Adidas, which, according to Forbes, brought in an estimated $1.7 billion in sales in 2020.
The prototype sneakers will go on public display in Hong Kong from April 16 through April 21 at Sotheby’s.
To date, the world’s most expensive sneakers are believed to be a pair designed in 2016 with New York-based lifestyle brand Bicion and sneaker designer Dan Gamache, the “Mache Custom Kicks” that were embellished with diamonds and sapphires and valued at $4 million.