The shoes were a prototype that never hit stores, and are the first ever sneakers to sell for over a $1 million.
Kanye West’s Yeezys are now the most expensive shoes in the world after the Nike Air Yeezy samples sold for $1.8 million in a private sale.
The Yeezy shoes, which Kanye wore to the Grammy Awards in 2008, were prototypes and never officially hit stores. They were revealed during Kanye’s performance at the award show. Now, they’re the first sneaker to sell for more than $1 million, according to Sotheby's auction house in a statement on Monday.
The shoe, a size 12, was bought by RARES, an investing platform that allows its users to buy and trade shares of sneakers. Gerome Sapp, the co-founder of the business, said in a press statement buying the sneakers was like buying "a piece of history."
“Our goal in purchasing such an iconic shoe – and a piece of history – is to increase accessibility and empower the communities that birthed sneaker culture with the tools to gain financial freedom through RARES,” Sapp said.
West’s collaboration with Nike ended in 2013, and he switched the brand over to Adidas. In 2020, the brand raked in $1.7 billion, Forbes reported.
