Christie’s hosts auction for original Air Jordan sneakers in collaboration with Stadium Goods
In collaboration with Stadium Goods, Christie’s held an incredibly special auction between July 30th and August 13th that featured multiple pairs of original Air Jordan sneakers. This is the first time Christie’s has played a role in the sneaker category, and while this is a move that isn’t entirely groundbreaking and probably should have happened sooner, it is still a big deal. Christie’s being one of the most prominent auction houses in the world, as well as being one of the oldest that is rooted in tradition, plays a major role in defining the meaning and parameters of luxury. By delving into the world of sneakers, the auction house is finally recognizing sneakers as a defining category of what luxury is today.
Christie’s hosted a virtual panel toward the end of the auction where the collaboration between Christie’s and Stadium goods was discussed as well as the background and historical significance behind each pair of shoes. Caitlin Donovan, VP and head of sale for handbags and accessories at Christie’s explained that “sneakers have been on [the Christie’s] radar for a couple of years” and that Christie’s had been “waiting for the right time and the right strategic partner in order to offer [its] first sale in this new collecting category in a way that [they] thought was Christie’s branded.” The collaborative effort between Christie’s and Stadium Goods unquestionably delivered. One of the pairs featured in the auction was a pair that Jordan wore in 1985 on his European tour with Nike after emerging out of his rookie year with the Chicago Bulls. In a game against Italian basketball team JuveCaserta, Jordan would make sports history when he hit a slam dunk so hard that it shattered the backboard. The pair of “Air Jordan 1 Highs” that he was wearing during this game and even has a small shard of glass from the backboard embedded in the sole of one of the shoes auctioned for USD 615,000.
We look forward to seeing what else Christie’s has in store for the future of sneaker collecting.
