If you spend hours scrolling through Depop and arguing over rare footwear in closed Facebook groups, on a mission to expand your growing boxfresh collection, then boy do we have good news for you! A new show at Sotheby’s New York is exhibiting the 100 rarest trainers in the entire world, and even more excitingly, you can even nab yourself a pair.
And these styles aren’t likely to be found in your average Hypebeast resell community. Sotheby’s have teamed up with streetwear and sneaker marketplace Stadium Goods to curate a selection of their most prized, extremely rare footwear. Spanning 1972 to the present day, the exhibition is a trip through the archives of sneakerkind. It features Nike’s ‘Moon Shoe’, an original sample model of one of the first ever running shoes from the brand — and the world’s only unworn pair — which is expected to sell at auction for between $110,000 and $160,000.
For a slightly less eye-watering price, sneakerheads can also bid on Nike’s Back to the Future II trainer. Originally a fictional shoe worn by Marty McFly in the aforementioned classic film, this collection was created after fans petitioned for Nike to make it in real life. The resulting futuristic models from 2011 and 2016 are valued at around $18,000 and $70,000 respectively, and will raise money for the Michael J Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research. And for those with a more modern interest, there’s also a pair of Air Jordan 4’s from Travis Scott’s highly sought after Friends and Family collaboration, expected to fetch around $60,000.
If those prices haven’t totally put you off and you’re already on your way to the bank to clear out your savings in anticipation of owning some sneaker history, then fair enough, here’s what you need to know. The online-only auction is open for bidding from today through to 23 July via Sotheby’s. For New York-based sneaker stans without access to thousands of dollars to blow on their passion, then you can view the pieces — for free! — in a public exhibition over at your local Sotheby’s, also open until 23 July.
Happy window shopping!