Kanye West’s Nike Air Yeezy 1 trainers shatter records, selling at auction for US$1.8 million
- The shoes beat the record held by a pair of Nike Air Jordan 1s which sold for US$615,000 in August 2020 at a Christie’s auction
- ‘The sale marks the highest publicly recorded price for a sneaker sale ever,’ auction house Sotheby’s said
.png?itok=arIb17P0)
A pair of Nike Air Yeezy 1s worn by rapper Kanye West sold for US$1.8 million, triple the previous record for trainers, Sotheby’s said on Monday, as the market for rare sports shoes soars.
The shoes beat the record held by a pair of Nike Air Jordan 1s which sold for US$615,000 in August 2020 at a Christie’s auction.
The record price for trainers has been broken several times recently as what was seen as a niche market 10 years ago now attracts interest from the general public as well as leading collectors.
“The sale marks the highest publicly recorded price for a sneaker sale ever,” Sotheby’s said in a statement.
“The sale also marks the first pair of trainers to top $1 million,” it added.
The black high-top Yeezys were worn by West during the 2008 Grammy Awards as he performed Hey Mama and Stronger.
The trainers, which were part of a collaboration between Nike and West, were prototypes, with the resulting model not going on sale until April 2009.
The shoes were acquired by RARES, a sneaker investment marketplace that allows users to invest in rare pairs of athletic footwear.
Individuals can buy shares in a pair, just as investors buy stock in a company.
RARES bought the Air Yeezy 1s through a private sale from sneaker collector Ryan Chang.
Kanye West’s first pair of Yeezy trainers are in Hong Kong
The sale price exceeded Sotheby’s estimate of $1 million.
Brahm Wachter, head of streetwear and new collectibles at Sotheby’s, said the price “speaks volumes of Kanye’s legacy as one of the most influential clothing and sneaker designers of our time, and of the Yeezy franchise he has built which has become an industry titan.”
Before collaborating with West, Nike had named shoes only in honour of 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 US$2,000 and US$4,000, depending on the model.
Kanye West trainers set for US$1 million-plus auction
West initially teamed up with Nike before switching to Adidas to create his own line.
Yeezy trainers generated nearly US$1.7 billion in revenue in 2020, according to an internal note from UBS bank, reported by Bloomberg.
According to financial firm Cowen, the global collectible sneaker resale market could be worth US$30 billion by 2030.
Jordan’s Air Jordan 1 Highs that Christie’s sold in August were worn by the basketball legend during a 1985 exhibition match in Italy when he dunked the ball so hard it shattered the glass backboard.
That sale broke a record set in May 2020 when a pair of Air Jordan 1’s sold for US$560,000.
Sotheby’s in Geneva announced on Monday that it would auction several trainers worn by basketball greats including Jordan, Kareem Abdul Jabbar and Stephen Curry.
The highlight of the May 1 to May 12 sale will be a pair of Air Jordan 1s worn by Jordan during his debut year in the NBA in 1984.
