BEVERLY HILLS, April 28, (THEWILL) – A pair of shoes designed and worn by American born-again rapper, Kanye West was sold for $1.8 million (£1.3 million) at an auction which is the highest amount ever paid for a pair of trainers.
The Nike Air Yeezy 1 Prototypes has defeated the past record held by a pair of Nike Air Jordan sold for $615,000 last year.
“The sale also marks the first pair of sneakers to top $1 million,” Sotheby’s auction house disclosed on Monday.
The rapper wore the shoes the first time when he performed at the Grammys in 2008.
The shoes are a US size 12, or a UK 11.
RARES, an internet platform for investing in rare footwear, bought the shoes and its users can acquire shares in a pair in a similar way to how investors buy stocks in a company, Yahoo news states.
The shoes were sold by the shoe collector, Ryan Chang, in a private sale, which means that the buyer or the final sale price can be made known unless the buyer themselves comes forward.
“The sale marks the highest publicly recorded price for a sneaker sale ever,” the auction house said in a statement.
The Head of streetwear and collectibles at Sotheby’s, Brahm Wachter, said the price “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.”
