Kanye West’s Yeezy Prototypes Expected To Sell For Over $1 Million

A prototype pair of Kanye West‘s first Yeezy shoes are set to go up for sale at Sotheby’s, and are expected to sell for over $1 million (£727,650).

West wore the sample Nike-made shoes in 2008 during his performance at the 50th Grammy Awards.

The Nike Air Yeezy 1 kick-started the multi-billion-dollar-valued Yeezy sneaker and clothing brand when it was launched the following year.

Sotheby’s posted the news on its social media platforms:

“Dropping today: Kanye West ‘Grammy Worn’ Nike Air Yeezy 1 Prototypes, the iconic sneakers worn during the artist’s memorable and emotional performance of Hey Mama and Stronger at the 50th Annual Grammy Awards in 2008.

“The pair introduced the Nike Yeezy to the world, redefining what a signature shoe could be. Created exclusively for Kanye, the Air Yeezy was an entirely new silhouette – designed for an artist rather than an athlete – and paved the way for many of the artist collaborations of today.”

One of the most prized and sought-after sneakers in existence, the pair is on offer via private sale from Ryan Chang, renowned sneaker collector and curator of Applied Arts NYC, and will be on public exhibition from 16-21 April in Hong Kong at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre.”

Sotheby’s website paints more of a picture about the shoes:

“In the evening of February 10, 2008, Kanye West sent waves through the sneaker world. During his memorable and emotional performance of Hey Mama and Stronger at the 50th Annual Grammy Awards, Kanye donned a pair of sneakers that even top aficionados could not identify. It was a mystery, and the only clue was a Swoosh.

“For over a year, rumours were quietly stirring that maybe a Kanye sneaker was coming. Nike knew the Grammys was the right time to introduce their top-secret project, and in one of the most brilliant reveals in sneaker history, Nike and Kanye teased the hype on which the Air Yeezy 1 would deliver.

"The sneaker world went off in a frenzy, as blogs and social media lit up across a community eager to know everything about the shoe that was unlike any they had seen before. The Nike Yeezy Empire had officially been born.

“Kanye’s introduction of the Air Yeezy at the 50th Annual Grammy Awards is considered to be one of the most important moments in the history of footwear, becoming a pillar in the advent of modern sneaker culture. Today the multibillion-dollar adidas Yeezy brand is an industry titan. It was an entirely new silhouette, created for an artist rather than an athlete.”

The trainers were originally sold as ‘Grammy Worn’ in benefit of a charity Nike frequently supports – the Doernbecher Children's Hospital. Aside from this clear provenance, Sotheby’s utilised external consultants to both photo-analyse the shows (comparing them against Kanye’s performance that evening), as well as looking at build, tagging, box and makeup to determine the sneaker’s authenticity.

The Grammy Air Yeezy samples were built in Nike’s lab, known as the ‘Innovation Kitchen’ at the company’s headquarters in Beaverton, Oregon.

Creative Director Mark Smith kept the project so under wraps that he released the shoes to Kanye for the Grammys with the condition that they would be returned as soon as possible following the performance.