The Louis Vuitton and Nike “Air Force 1” by Virgil Abloh Sotheby’s Auction has closed after being extended one day from the original February 8, 2022 ending time. Sotheby’s had extended bidding by a day to February 9, 2022 just as the gavel was about to fall on the most exciting shoe auction in memory. Extended auctions can sometimes signal some concern or weakness, or some technical difficulties inside the bidding systems. This extension was due to overwhelming interest and every single lot in the auction exponentially exceeded the original estimates.

A majority of the 200 lots at Sotheby’s sold for prices close to $100,000.00. The highest priced lot even sold for over $350,000.00 — and incredible feat considering the original estimates were between $5,000.00 to $15,000.00. Sneakers are a newer segment within collectibles. Does this auction imply that the sneakerhead rage is on, or do we just chalk it up to the great names behind the effort? Louis Vuitton and Nike teamed up to produce a limited edition run of shoes and knew what they were doing. Nike “Air Force 1” has a loyal following that showed up to the Sotheby’s New York Auction.

Collectors Dashboard evaluates high-end collectibles as an alternative asset class. Whether or not this collectible shoe will be an investment may depend upon whether each buyer has to wear the shoes or can resist that urge. Either way, the estimated price target $5,000 to $15,000 per pair was a lot more than any normal shoes. Following this auction that perspective will change based on the exponential excesses we witnessed.

The results are simply astonishing for a limited edition shoe that was first introduced in 1982. Here are some of the extraordinary lots which sold February 9, 2022 after extended bidding was established by Sotheby’s:

• Size 5 with Nike x Louis Vuitton “Air Force 1” & Pilot Case had an estimate of $5,000.00 to $15,000.00 and had a current bid of $220,000.00 after 51 bids on February 8. At auction close February 9 the shoe had sold for $352,800.00. This was the highest sale in the auction.
• Size 5.5 Nike x Louis Vuitton “Air Force 1” & Pilot Case had an estimate of $5,000.00 to $15,000.00 and was the second highest sale at $176,400.00.
• Size 8 with Nike x Louis Vuitton “Air Force 1” & Pilot Case all had estimates of $5,000.00 TO $15,000.00 and the 28 total pairs listed of size 8 all sold for between $94,500.00 to $113,400.00.

A total of 200 pairs of Nike “Air Force 1” sold with a Louis Vuitton pilot case in orange Taurillon Monogram Leather (the case is exclusive to this auction). Nearly half sold just above or just below $100,000.00. The pilot case features Louis Vuitton’s classic S lock closure in white metal finishing and includes a luggage tag in the shape of the Nike Swoosh, the case also adapts to every shoe size based on an internal cushion system.

According to Sotheby’s the sneakers were made with materials employed in Abloh’s Louis Vuitton men’s collections, and styled with his signature quotation marks, echoing the written graphics Abloh often used in his work. The individual styles designed for the show were made by Louis Vuitton in its shoe manufacture in Fiesso d’Artico, Italy.

The most successful shoe ever created performed astonishingly at the Sotheby’s auction. Collectors from music or pop culture based interests are filled with euphoria as they await the arrival of the new definition of high-end shoe. One certainty is that this will be a pinnacle moment for the Nike Air Force 1 brand. The big question remains who could wear one out on the town?