On February 10, Beijing time, 200 pairs of a certain brand of sneakers were auctioned for 25.3 million US dollars, equivalent to about 160 million yuan, creating a new auction record in the same category. It is worth mentioning that these 200 pairs of sneakers are not ordinary sneakers, it is a joint model of Nike and the world-renowned luxury brand Louis Vuitton (LV), created by the late famous designer Virgil Abolo, and the first official cooperation between the two brands of this co-branded sneaker.
Stamped on one side of the sneakers is the designer Virgil-Abloh's double quote logo and lv brand's signature embossing. Each pair comes with a limited edition orange flying suitcase. The suitcase is made from orange Taurillon premium leather and embossed with the label's initials and logo.
It is reported that the expected transaction price of these 200 pairs of shoes before the auction was only 3 million US dollars, so the transaction price was nearly eight times the expected price.
The 200 pairs of shoes are available in sizes from US5 to US18, with a starting price of $2,000 per shoe, with an initial estimate of $5,000-$15,000 for a pair. Among them, a pair of US5 size sneakers was auctioned for $352,800, about 2.2 million yuan, the most expensive pair; 26 pairs of US9 size shoes were auctioned for $3.4 million "sky-high price"; a pair of sneakers sized US8 reached 1100 times, which was the most bidded in this batch of shoes.
The auction was also the largest number of bidders at Sotheby's, with more than 1,200 bidders worldwide interested. With an average of 52 bidders per lot, more than two-thirds of them young collectors (younger than 40 years old), all proceeds from the auction will be donated to the Virgil Abrough "Post-Modern" scholarship fund.