At the 2008 Grammy Awards we knew this about Kanye West.
He was brilliant, and he was kind of weird.
At that show he introduced to the world the first glimpse of his fashion empire, unveiling a customized pair of Air Jordans.
Since then, he has become an iconic global brand, married Kim Kardashian, ran for President, become a self-made billionaire, and sold the most expensive pair of sneakers ever…
There’s no getting around the fact these shoes are cool. Officially called the “Grammy Worn” Nike Air Yeezy Prototypes, like most things connected with Kanye now these black leather hightops turned to gold.
They are officially the first par of sneakers to break the $1 million sale price barrier. They didn’t break the barrier, they crushed it.
The previous record for a pair of sneakers were the Nike Air Jordan 1s from 1985 that sold for a whopping $560K a year ago.
Kanye’s first Yeezy’s more than tripled that number, going for $1.8 million to the sneaker investment platform Rares in a private sale conducted by Sotheby’s.
Kanye wore these size 12 shoes one time, at the 2008 Grammy’s, when he performed “Hey Mama” and “Stronger.”
Sotheby’s described the kicks in intricate detail, saying the shoes “feature a soft black leather upper, perforated details, tonal Nike swoosh, Yeezy forefoot strap and signature “Y” medallion lacelocks in bright pink.”
What’s interesting about these Yeezy’s is they came during the time he collaborated with Nike. They stopped doing business together in 2013, and now Adidas and Gap have $1.7 billion reasons to love their relationship with West.
The Sotheby man in charge of their Streetwear and Modern Collectibles released a statement about this record setting deal. “The sale 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.”
What’s next for the shoes? You can own a tiny little piece of them, you just won’t be able to ever wear them. Rares said they will split ownership of it into shares that will be available to buy in June.
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