{"id":148779,"date":"2019-07-11T23:22:52","date_gmt":"2019-07-11T15:22:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.geek.com\/featured\/-1795281\/"},"modified":"2019-07-11T23:22:52","modified_gmt":"2019-07-11T15:22:52","slug":"100-of-the-worlds-rarest-sneakers-are-up-for-auction","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/itteacheritfreelance.hk\/test\/wordpress\/2019\/07\/11\/100-of-the-worlds-rarest-sneakers-are-up-for-auction\/","title":{"rendered":"100 of the World\u2019s Rarest Sneakers Are Up for Auction"},"content":{"rendered":"
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One of only a handful of pairs known to exist, the Nike Moon Shoe is a handmade running shoe designed by Nike co-founder Bill Bowerman. It\u2019s estimated to fetch up to $160,000 at an auction from Sotheby’s and Stadium Goods. (Photo Credit: Sotheby’s)<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n

Sneakerheads might want to get their credit cards out. In the first-ever auction of its kind, Sotheby’s and Stadium Goods have partnered to offer the “Ultimate Sneaker Collection”<\/a> \u2014 100 of the world’s rarest sneakers \u2014 up for sale in an online-only auction.<\/p>\n

The collection<\/a> includes sneakers that have attained “grail” status, limited-edition designs by\u00a0leading fine artists and musicians, and even “genre-disrupting” collaborations from the greatest athletes of all time, according to Sotheby’s.<\/p>\n

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This 2002 release of the Nike SB Dunk Low with artwork by French painter Bernard Buffet is one of the most sought-after sneakers of all time. (Photo Credit: Sotheby’s)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\u201cFrom the Paris Nike SB Low Dunks featuring designs by Bernard Buffet to the Nike Moon Shoe originally hand made by Nike co-founder Bill Bowerman, the sale offers a range of rare, highly-coveted collectible sneakers bringing together art, culture and fashion,” Noah Wunsch, Sotheby\u2019s Global Head of eCommerce, said in a statement.<\/p>\n

Some of the most notable models include the 2011 and 2016 versions of the Nike Air Mag<\/a>, the\u00a0once-fictional sneaker worn by Marty McFly in Back to the Future Part 2<\/em>. Nike released only 26 pairs of the 2016 self-lacing version, and like the 2011 version, benefited the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson\u2019s Research. Due to\u00a0the power-lacing feature and extreme rarity, a size 11 pair up for auction is estimated to sell for up to $70,000.<\/p>\n

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Nike, Nike Mag, Back to the Future 2016. (Photo Credit: Sotheby’s)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Fiver pairs\u00a0 of the Travis Scott x Air Jordan 4 \u201cFriends & Family\u201d<\/a> sneakers, including in the ultra-rare purple suede colorway, are also up for auction. The shoes were only produced in a very limited run for friends and family (including Kylie Jenner) of the famous rapper and Jordan Brand collaborator. They are estimated to fetch up to $60,000.<\/p>\n

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Air Jordan 4 Retro, Travis Scott. (Photo Credit: Sotheby’s)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

The\u00a0Chanel x Pharrell x Adidas NMD Hu TR – 1-of-1 for Karl Lagerfeld<\/a> is also one of the most coveted models in the collection<\/a>. Pharrell’s collaboration the fashion house was released only at a special Chanel pop-up shop at Colette in Paris in extremely limited quantities, but this shoe is even more special. It features a modified design that replaces \u201cChanel\u201d across the top of the right shoe with \u201cKarl\u201d and was given exclusively to Karl Lagerfeld as a gift from Pharrell. This \u201cKarl\u201d edition is thought to be the only pair in existence. The size 9.5 pair is expected to fetch up to $50,000.<\/p>\n

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Chanel x Pharrell x Adidas NMD Hu TR – 1-of-1 for Karl Lagerfeld. (Photo Credit: Sotheby’s)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

But perhaps the most exclusive pair in the collection<\/a> is the\u00a0handmade Nike “Moon Shoe,”<\/a> created by Nike co-founder, famed Olympic team, and University of Oregon running coach Bill Bowerman. He created just 12 pairs of the shoes for U.S. runners at the 1972 Olympic trials.<\/p>\n

As the famous story goes, Bowerman was first inspired to create the innovative waffle sole traction pattern found on the brand\u2019s early running shoes by tinkering with his wife\u2019s waffle iron, pouring rubber into the mold to create the first prototype of the sole. The finished design of the traction pattern created better grip and cushion than most running shoes of the time, and the waffle sole was Nike\u2019s first major innovation as a brand. The \u201cMoon Shoe\u201d got its name from the resemblance between the impression that the waffle pattern left in dirt and the famous tracks left on the moon by astronauts in 1969. (By coincidence, the 50th anniversary of the moon landing takes place while this auction is live, on July 20th.)<\/p>\n

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Nike Waffle Racing Flat, Moon Shoe. (Photo Credit: Sotheby’s)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

This Nike Moon Shie pair was hand-cobbled by one of Nike\u2019s first employees, Geoff Hollister. The\u00a0pair (in size 12.5) does not say \u201cNike\u201d anywhere inside or outside the design, with only the side Swooshes designating them as a Nike shoe.\u00a0This is the only pair known to exist in unworn, deadstock condition. It’s estimated to fetch up to $160,000.<\/p>\n

Other rare sneakers up for auction include the Nike Air Force 1<\/a> produced to promote Jay-Z’s album \u201cThe Blueprint 2\u201d in 2003; the\u00a0Eminem x Carhartt x Air Jordan 4<\/a>; the Air Jordan 11 Jeter<\/a> produced to commemorate baseball great Derek Jeter’s retirement; the\u00a0DJ Khaled x Air Jordan<\/a>\u00a0 \u201cFriends & Family” and the Off-White x Air Jordan 1<\/a> by Virgil Abloh.<\/p>\n

Sotheby\u2019s and Stadium Goods\u2019 \u201cUltimate Sneaker Collection\u201d auction<\/a> is now open for bids and will remain active until July 23. The sneakers are also on display for the public at the Sotheby’s in New York.<\/p>\n

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