Kanye West’s Nike Air Yeezy 1 trainers shatter records, selling at auction for US$1.8 million
- The shoes beat the record held by a pair of Nike Air Jordan 1s which sold for US$615,000 in August 2020 at a Christie’s auction
- ‘The sale marks the highest publicly recorded price for a sneaker sale ever,’ auction house Sotheby’s said
![Visitors look at Kanye West’s Grammy-worn Nike Air Yeezy 1 Prototype sneakers on display during a Sothebys auction preview in Hong Kong on April 17. Photo: EPA-EFE](https://cdn.i-scmp.com/sites/default/files/styles/1020x680/public/d8/images/canvas/2021/04/27/93e263b5-d022-419a-a26a-da321fca856d_19e7c183.jpg?itok=hV9EBN0G&v=1619477109)
A pair of Nike Air Yeezy 1s worn by rapper Kanye West sold for US$1.8 million, triple the previous record for trainers, Sotheby’s said on Monday, as the market for rare sports shoes soars.
The shoes beat the record held by a pair of Nike Air Jordan 1s which sold for US$615,000 in August 2020 at a Christie’s auction.
The record price for trainers has been broken several times recently as what was seen as a niche market 10 years ago now attracts interest from the general public as well as leading collectors.
“The sale marks the highest publicly recorded price for a sneaker sale ever,” Sotheby’s said in a statement.
“The sale also marks the first pair of trainers to top $1 million,” it added.
![Kanye West performs at the Grammy Awards in Los Angeles in 2008 wearing his Nike Yeezy trainers. Photo: AFP Kanye West performs at the Grammy Awards in Los Angeles in 2008 wearing his Nike Yeezy trainers. Photo: AFP](https://img.i-scmp.com/cdn-cgi/image/fit=contain,width=1024,format=auto/sites/default/files/d8/images/canvas/2021/04/27/8e500383-5c2b-449c-ade0-455e9503ce8d_20641e4f.jpg)
The black high-top Yeezys were worn by West during the 2008 Grammy Awards as he performed Hey Mama and Stronger.
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