A pair of Nike Air Yeezy which were worn by famous American rapper Kanye West has been sold for $1.8 million, triple the previous record for sneakers.
The shoes beat the record held by a pair of Nike Air Jordan 1s which sold for $615,000 in August 2020 at a Christie’s auction. The record price for sneakers has been broken several times recently as what was seen as a niche market ten 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 sneakers to top $1 million,” it added.
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The black high-top Yeezys were worn by West during the 2008 Grammy Awards as he performed “Hey Mama” and “Stronger.” The sneakers, which were part of a collaboration between Nike and West, were prototypes, with the resulting model not going on sale until April 2009.
