Rapper Kanye West's sneakers sold for $ 1.8 million
Kanye West wears the pair of Nike Air Yeezy 1 sneakers at the Grammys in 2008. Kevin Winter Getty Images North America / Getty Images / AFP
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A pair of Nike Air Yeezy 1 sneakers worn by their inspiration, American rapper Kanye West, sold for $ 1.8 million.
A figure that shatters previous records.
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The Nike Air Yeezy 1 high top sneakers are a unique model.
It is the very first pair of the brand Yeezy produced by Nike presented publicly at the feet of rapper Kanye West during the Grammy Awards in 2008.
The pair of shoes were acquired through a private sale: the auction house, here Sotheby's, put the seller, in this case New York collector Ryan Chang, in direct contact with the buyer.
World Record: This pair of Kanye West 'Grammy Worn' Nike Air Yeezy 1 Prototypes from 2008 sold for $ 1.8 million today.
Acquired by sneaker investing platform @raresapp via private sale, the pair set a new world record price for a pair of sneakers.
https://t.co/bdgKtrHLY2
- Sotheby's (@Sothebys) April 26, 2021
The precious shoes were acquired by Rares, a platform launched in late March by 40-year-old former professional American football player Gerome Sapp.
Specialized investment companies which track down these rare pieces are indeed starting to emerge.
Concretely, these companies buy collector's sneakers generally associated with a sports or music personality to resell them at a higher price on their platform.
The sneakers, which are in limited numbers, are then subject to permanent auctions on these platforms.
The record was previously held by Nike Air Jordan 1s, which sold for $ 615,000 in a sale organized by Christie's in 2020.
The market for the resale of collector's sneakers, which was only a niche ten years ago, is now on the rise.
According to some analysts, it could be worth $ 30 billion by 2030.
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