(New York) Two months after the death of American designer Virgil Abloh, the sneakers Louis Vuitton-Nike, designed for the last parade of his lifetime in 2021 and expected by collectors, will be auctioned, at a minimum of $ 2,000, for the benefit of charity, Sotheby’s announced on Wednesday.
Posted at 1:47 p.m.
Updated at 3:09 p.m.
The 200 identical pairs of “Air Force 1” – a model that celebrates its 40th anniversary in 2022 – in brown, white and cream colors and featuring the famous Louis Vuitton motifs and the Nike comma, will be sold online from January 26 to February 8.
These sneakers were presented in June 2021, for Louis Vuitton’s spring summer 2022 collection, including Virgil Abloh, king of the streetwear de luxe, was the “menswear” artistic director.
The stylist, DJ, hip-hop fan and former adviser to rapper Kanye West, died of cancer at the end of November at the age of 41.
The starting price is set at 2000 dollars, also including an orange Pilote bag. For years, the sneakers have become collector’s items that can be snapped up sometimes for tens of thousands of dollars.
Sotheby’s, Louis Vuitton and Nike indicate that Virgil Abloh had participated in the organization of the sale before his death, the profits of which will be donated to the “Virgil Abloh Post-Modern Scholarship Fund”, a scholarship supporting the training of students from African American and African descent.
Louis Vuitton specifies that an exhibition revealing 47 other models of this collaboration, in different colors, preceding their commercial launch, will take place later. As part of the Parisian week of men’s ready-to-wear which started on Tuesday in Paris, the luxury house is organizing two fashion shows on Thursday for the latest collection designed by Virgil Abloh.