Up to $800,000 in Rare Sneakers Being Auctioned by Sotheby’s
Written by SOURCE on March 18, 2021
Auction house Sotheby’s is continuing to make major moves in the sneaker resale space. After breaking a record for the most expensive shoes ever sold last year (the previous record holder came way of Sotheby’s too), the company has a new collection up for grabs that spans Nike exclusives tied to athletes, entertainers, colleges, and more.
The 50-sneaker “Scarce Air” range was curated in partnership with rare sneaker purveyor English Sole. It’s highlighted by rare exclusives made for artists including Kanye West (a signed, mismatched Air Yeezy 2 sample), Eminem (three different versions of the “Encore” Air Jordan 4 and his Carhartt collaboration), Drake (gold and pink snakeskin Air Jordan 11s, “Splatter” Air Jordan 4s, and “Calipari Pack” Air Jordan 8s), Travis Scott (purple Air Jordan 4s), and Usher (gold Air Jordan 3s, Air Jordan 9s, and Air Jordan 11s), among others.
There are also a number of collegiate PEs in the mix including Air Jordans made for Georgetown, Florida, Marquette, Michigan, Oklahoma, and UNC. The new elephant-print covered Air Jordan 5 PEs for Oklahoma and North Carolina are expected to be among the highest valued pairs with estimates of up to $10,000 each.
Other highlights of the “Scarce Air” group include the gold “Entourage” Air Force 1s, an Air Force 1 design concept by South Korean artist June Lee, and Mark Wahlberg’s “Wahlburger” Air Jordan 4s.
“We couldn’t be more excited to partner with English Sole to present this carefully curated group of extremely rare sneakers, some of which have never surfaced in a public auction before,” said Brahm Wachter, Sotheby’s head of streetwear & modern collectables. “The collection is remarkably diverse, and touches everything from music, to art, to design and fashion…We hope that we are able to honor the unique history of each through this offering.”
Readers can shop the full Sotheby’s “Scarce Air” auction here. Bidding will end March 29.
