Sotheby's
A Nike "Moon Shoe" is expected to reach up to $160,000.
- The global sneaker resale market is estimated to be worth at least $2 billion, according to analysis by Cowen.
- A Nike "Moon Shoe" is up for bidding at Sotheby's rare-shoes auction. The starting bid is $80,000, and the shoes are ultimately expected to fetch up to $160,000.
- The shoes were designed by Nike cofounder Bill Bowerman and constructed by one of Nike's first employees, Geoff Hollister. They were originally designed for runners at the 1972 Olympic Trials.
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How much is too much for a pair of sneakers?
Sotheby's has partnered with sneaker marketplace Stadium Goods for its first-ever rare-sneaker auction - and some of them are expected to go for six figures.
The cheapest shoes - black and red Air Jordans - start at $1,800. The most expensive item is the Nike Waffle Racing "Moon Shoe." With a starting bid of $80,000, the shoes are ultimately expected to fetch up to $160,000.
Featuring 100 of the world's rarest sneakers, the auction's offerings include a swath of coveted designs, from Derek Jeter Air Jordans to Nike Mags from "Back to the Future Part II."
"The auction's crown jewel is undoubtedly the pair of handmade Nike 'Moon Shoe' circa 1972, designed by Nike co-founder and Oregon University track coach Bill Bowerman," Sotheby's associate editor Halina Loft wrote in a post about the auction.
The shoes were constructed by Geoff Hollister, one of Nike's first employees. Looking for a solution with better grip and comfort for runners, Bowerman experimented with a waffle pattern on the sole of the shoe. According to Sotheby's, the shoe was dubbed the "Moon Shoe" because of the tracks that the soles left in the dirt, which looked similar to the impressions that astronauts left on the moon in 1969.
Only 12 pairs were created - they were meant for runners at the 1972 Olympic Trials, according to Sotheby's. Today, this is the only unworn pair that is known to exist.
A watch at a Sotheby's auction recently became the most expensive English watch ever sold. The George Daniels Space Traveller I went for $4.6 million, exceeding the previously held record, which was for a Space Traveller II that went for $4.3 million in 2017, Hypebeast reported.
Cowen estimates that the global sneaker resale market is now worth at least $2 billion. The most expensive shoes to be resold in the last year were the Nike Mags with automatic lacing, according to estimates from Cowen and data from StockX.
As of Tuesday morning, no bids had been placed on the Nike "Moon Shoe."