A sale of a limited edition of Virgil Abloh Louis Vuitton Nike Air Force Ones generated more than $21 million at Sotheby’s on Wednesday.
The 200 pairs of sneakers were expected to sell for at least $30,000 each, especially due to the recent death of Abloh, who died in November at 41, but initial estimates were quickly blown away.
The smallest pair, in a 5 1/2, sold for $352,800 and the 176 pairs that had closed as of 1p.m. ET averaged a sale price of $123,637.
Abloh was one of the most respected designers in all of fashion. He became the CEO of the Off-White label in 2013. The brand gained worldwide acclaim through his collaboration with Nike. Abloh went to to become the artistic director of Louis Vuitton in 2018.
Auction houses like Sotheby’s rarely take part in primary sales like this one. They are often selling shoes that had already been sold.
To put this all in perspective, all of the Abloh shoes would be in the top-5 highest bids for a pair on secondary sneaker site StockX.
There has been a $1 million bid to buy a pair of Jordan retro 4 Wahlbugers, a $238,000 bid to buy a pair of the Adidas Y-3 Yohji Star Black White and a $100,000 bid on a pair of Jordan 4 retro Eminem Encores.
