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Craig Sager Air Jordan 1
Before basketball commentator Craig Sager passed away in 2016, Nike designed these Air Jordan 1s to honor him and his plaid-centric style. Reportedly, only a few pairs were produced. Current market value is well over $15,000.
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AIR JORDAN KOBE PACK PE
$20,000 is what you’ll pay if you want to know what it felt like to be Kobe Bryant while Nike was wooing him to sign a shoe contract during the 2002-2003 season. They made him these Jordan 3s and 8s in Lakers’ colors before he ultimately signed with the swoosh for good. Limited quantities exist. Jay-Z had a pair. Is he the re-seller?
$46,350
Air Jordan 11 Jeter
The Jordan brand honored Derek Jeter’s retirement with these Jordan 11s in navy suede. If you didn’t win the auction to snag a pair in 2017 (and supposedly, only five were made), they can still be yours for just shy of $50,000.
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Dunk High LE
Nike had the smarts to slap some Wu-Tang branding on their University of Iowa Dunks, playing off the shared colorways of the school and the rap group. This happened in 1999, pre-social media. Had anything like Twitter existed then, these shoes would have dominated all the feeds. They currently go for $15,000. It’s been long rumored there are only 36 pairs.
$30,000
AIR JORDAN 4 RETRO "CARHARTT X EMINEM"
Over the years, Eminem has collaborated with Nike on a number of sneakers. There’s the ‘93 Air Max with green elephant print and the underrated 2002 Air Burst, but none are as rare or as coveted as the Carhartt Jordan 4 Encore. It’s currently selling for $30,000.
$900
NEW BALANCE
"THE KENNEDY"
In late 2010, New Balance announced a collaboration with Concepts, the iconic sneaker shop in Cambridge, MA—a Frank “The Butcher” Rivera-designed riff on the 999 with nautical themes. They called it “The Kennedy” in honor of a certain local dynasty, and at the time, less than 1000 pairs were made. The shoe had a retro release in 2017, and in my opinion, the OG is still a steal.
priceless
Air Span
II GW
The sneaker and streetwear worlds were crestfallen when one of their foremost chroniclers and consultants, Gary Warnett, passed away at the age of 39. In 2018, on what would have been his 40th birthday, Nike made 40 pairs of the Air Span II GW, ostensibly for friends and family. None have yet to emerge onto the secondary market. At this point, they remain literally priceless.
$6,180
TOM SACHS X NIKECRAFT MARS YARD
Artist Tom Sachs designed his Mars Yard sneaker with NASA employees in mind. Specifically, the sneakers were inspired by the team working on the Mars Rover (Sachs’ 2007 Space Program installation hinges on questions about NASA). The shoes were made to work on the surface of Mars. First released in 2012, Nike dropped an updated version in 2018, with another update coming this year. Right now, the 2018 re-release can be yours for just over $6,000.
$20,000
AIR YEEZY 2 SP "RED OCTOBER"
Before Kanye West’s Yeezy line found a home with Adidas in 2015, he designed a series of mega-hyped Nikes, including the black-and-pink Air Yeezy Blink in 2009 and the above Red October sneaker in 2014. The latter is still one of the most coveted kicks on the market.
$500
Blazer 73 Premium "Beautiful Loser"
Some of Nike’s best collaborations are rooted in street culture—where skating, art, and unapologetic exploration all fuse thrillingly. Its work with the art collective Beautiful Losers—a group that includes Barry McGee, Geoff McFetridge, and Kaws—hits all these notes. And it does so in a couple of rare pairs, including these 2005 Blazers, released in conjunction with the Beautiful Losers monograph.
n/a
Beautiful Losers x Nike Dunk High
The Beautiful Losers Dunk. It came out on the occasion of 2008’s Beautiful Losers documentary and features digitally-printed stills from the movie on the upper. Reportedly, 22 pairs exist.
$7,990
Air Max 1 Parra x Patta Cherrywood
Dutch artist Parra collaborated with Patta, the shop at the heart of Amsterdam’s streetwear scene, for this sneaker—note its tactile swoosh, cherrywood-colored upper, and multi-hued sole. There are only 258 pairs of these out there, it’s said.
$2,821
Air Max 1 Patta 5th Anniv.
Grails sometimes come in packs—a series of swoon-worthy shoes to mark a special occasion. Patta, Amsterdam’s sneaker mecca, crushed its 5th anniversary with one such pack in 2009 and 2010, releasing five different pairs of Nike Air Max 1s. Go ahead and daydream about the Quickstrike chlorophyll colorway—with its nubuck, denim, and canvas upper—and its hefty price tag.
$1,910
Adidas
Futurecraft 4d
When the first pairs of Adidas’s Futurecraft 4Ds emerged in 2017—literally from a vat of greenish goop, aided by a process called Digital Light Synthesis which 3D-prints bespoke midsoles—the shoe instantly signaled something next-level. Owning a pair from the first run is like having a museum piece.
$5,010
Air Jordan 1 X Fragment
It’s a hard rule: when a Japanese design legend releases a spin on an Air Jordan 1 (in a colorway that was once merely a sample), you hunt it down. Hirsohi Fujiwara’s Fragment Royal is immaculate, the stuff of sneaker dreams.
$5,550
Air Jordan 1 x OFF-WHITE NRG
It might be more interesting to see Off-White and Louis Vuitton designer Virgil Abloh only allow himself to work with lesser Nike silhouettes with the idea of elevating them significantly (let’s see what he does with an Aqua Sock!). But, it’s still beautiful to watch him work an icy white Jordan 1, like this one that was released in Europe in early 2018, and is now trading for over $5,500.
$1,290
Air Max 1/97 VF SW
Has there ever been a more hyped piece of corduroy than Sean Wotherspoon’s 2017 sunshiny Air Max 1–Air Max 97 hybrids? Likely not, and likely never again. Plus, they’re just the happiest drop in recent memory and worth having as a mood elevator alone.
$13,995
AIR JORDAN 3 RETRO "GRATEFUL"
DJ Khaled’s red and elephant print Air Jordan 3 is nicknamed “Grateful,” for the what he felt having had the opportunity to design it. Grateful is also the name of his album, which dropped around the same time. And Grateful should be the sentiment you feel, along with extreme privilege and confidence in your ability to flex.
$900
Asics Gel Lyte 3
Three-figure Asics may not seem like a logical phrase, but these Ronnie Fieg collabs from 2012 are beautifully detailed (split tongues, round laces), thoughtfully constructed, and evidence of a master coming into his own.
$8,000
DUNK LOW PRO SB "SUPREME"
Supreme is more than a New York City storefront. It’s a culture all on its own. Pair its gravity with that of limited edition Nike releases and waiting in line for shoes on the street would become like waiting in line to get into the club. Supreme’s first official Nike collab, a now elusive Dunk SB Low from 2002 (original retail price: $65), remains one of its finest.
Howie Kahn is the co-author of the New York Times Best Seller SNEAKERS, a contributing editor at WSJ Magazine and host of Prince Street, a podcast about food culture.
Words by Howie kahn - Design by Martin flores
The 25 Most Sought-After Sneakers on the Planet
The Holiest Grails
After spending a couple years writing a book about sneakers (called, naturally, SNEAKERS) the idea that a pair of coveted kicks can sell for 30 grand actually started to make sense to me. The price, at least I’ve come to think, isn’t merely about frivolity and flexing, it’s about understanding the way objects take on the kind of personal value that’s guided largely by feelings rather than by dollars-and-cents. It’s also about understanding sneaker history. Art collectors collect on the basis of context. Here, too, what people spend money on is not a purely aesthetic decision. The designer matters. The collaboration matters. The material innovation matters. So does the moment in time.
Sneakers have a secondary market—driven by retailers like Flight Club, Stadium Goods and GOAT—that boosts prices as a consequence of both scarcity and demand. I’ve been wondering how the market might evolve. But mostly, I just crush on the shoes. Here are 25 pairs I have my eye on right now.
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Travis Scott knows what he’s doing when it comes to brand collaborations. His signature combo with McDonald’s was a smash hit, his virtual concert in Fortnite was surreal, and his Jordan 1s, mocha-colored with a prominent backwards swoosh, have been some of the most sought-after sneakers of the past two years.
Travis Scott x Air Jordan 1 Retro High OG “Mocha”
$2,000
Sensing a pattern? The Air Jordan 1 is forever legendary, and the various reimaginations of the classic silhouette still reign supreme. This take, a collaboration with the vaunted French fashion house, is a step above—one of the most expensive releases of 2020.
Dior x Air Jordan 1 High
$8,680
J Balvin’s stock was already on the rise, but his global appeal has been undeniable ever since he appeared with J. Lo and Shakira at the Super Bowl halftime show. His Jordans, a tie-dye bonanza with interchangeable velcro badges, announce his arrival in the starscape.
J Balvin x Air Jordan 1 Retro High OG “Colores y Vibras”
$513
If you haven’t heard, the Grateful Dead is back. Again. The psychedelic aesthetic of the 56-year-old band has a new, unlikely fan base—LeBron was seen sporting a hoodie and pair of Dancing Bear shorts in the NBA bubble. These furry kicks with the Dead’s Dancing Bears, will set you back a few grand.
Grateful Dead x Nike Dunk Low SB “Orange Bear”
$2,769
Smooth and sweet, just like the real thing. And if you’ve got an extra grand laying around after you drop $1,500 on the sneakers, you can spring for the special-edition box, shaped and designed like a pint of Ben & Jerry’s.
Ben and Jerry’s Nike Dunk Low SB “Chunky Dunky”
$1,545
price as of
3/23/21
Before basketball commentator Craig Sager passed away in 2016, Nike designed these Air Jordan 1s to honor him and his plaid-centric style. Reportedly, only a few pairs were produced. Current market value is $15,000.
Craig Sager Air Jordan 1
$15,000
as of 6/18/2018 on Stadium goods
AIR JORDAN KOBE PACK PE
$20,000 is what you’ll pay if you want to know what it felt like to be Kobe Bryant while Nike was wooing him to sign a shoe contract during the 2002-2003 season. They made him these Jordan 3s and 8s in Lakers’ colors before he ultimately signed with the swoosh for good. Limited quantities exist. Jay-Z had a pair. Is he the re-seller?
$20,000
as of 4/17/2019 on flight club
The Jordan Brand honored Derek Jeter’s retirement with these Jordan 11s in navy suede. If you didn’t win the auction to snag one of the supposedly five pairs in 2017, they can still be yours for $40,000 for a size 9.5 or $50,000 for a 10.5.
Air Jordan 11 Jeter
$50,000
as of 4/17/2019 on Stadium goods
Nike had the smarts to slap some Wu-Tang branding on their University of Iowa Dunks, playing off the shared colorways of the school and the rap group. This happened in 1999, pre-social media. Had anything like Twitter existed then, these shoes would have dominated all the feeds. It’s been long rumored there are only 36 pairs.
Dunk High LE
$15,000
as of 4/17/2019 on flight club
Over the years, Eminem has collaborated on a series of sneakers with Nike. There’s the
93 Air Max with green elephant print and the underrated 2002 Air Burst , but none are as rare or as coveted as the Carhartt Jordan 4 Encore.
AIR JORDAN 4 RETRO "CARHARTT X EMINEM"
$20,000
as of 4/17/2019 on stadium goods
In late 2010, New Balance and Concepts, the iconic sneaker shop in Cambridge, MA, announced a Frank Rivera (aka Frank the Butcher) designed riff on the 999 with nautical themes. They called it The Kennedy in honor of a certain local hero. At the time, less than 1000 pairs were made. The shoe had a retro release in 2017 and the OG is, in my opinion, a steal.
NEW BALANCE
"THE KENNEDY"
$450
as of 4/17/2019 on flight club
Air Span II GW
The sneaker and streetwear worlds were crestfallen last year when one of their foremost chroniclers and consultants, Gary Warnett, passed away at the age of 39. On what would have been his 40th birthday, Nike made 40 pairs of the Air Span II GW, ostensibly for friends and family. None have yet to emerge onto the secondary market. At this point, they remain literally priceless.
priceless
unlisted as of 4/17/2019
Artist Tom Sachs designed his Mars Yard sneaker with the employees of NASA’s Jet Propulsion Lab in mind. Specifically, they were inspired by the team working on the Mars Rover (Sachs’ 2007 Space Program installation hinges on questions about NASA). The shoes were made to work on the surface of Mars. Nike released a couple thousand pairs in 2012 and released an updated version in the summer of 2017. For the original, featuring Vectran, a material used by NASA, the price is nearly six grand.
TOM SACHS X NIKECRAFT MARS YARD
$5,999
as of 4/17/2019 on Stadium goods
Before Kanye launched Yeezy with Adidas in 2015, he designed a series of mega-hyped Nikes, including the Air Yeezy Blink (with its black and pink colorway) in 2009 ($2795) and the Air Yeezy 2 Red October ($20,000) in 2014.
AIR YEEZY 2 SP "RED OCTOBER"
$8,750
as of 4/17/2019 on flight club
Some of Nike’s best collaborations are rooted in street culture, where skating, art, and an unapologetic exploration all fuse thrillingly. Their work with the art collective Beautiful Losers—a group that includes Barry McGee, Geoff McFetridge and Kaws—hits all these notes. And it does so in a couple of rare pairs: the 2005 Blazers, released in conjunction with the Beautiful Losers monograph. And… (see next)
Blazer 73 Premium 'Beautiful Loser'
$360
as of 4/17/2019 on Goat
The Beautiful Losers Dunk. It came out on the occasion of 2008’s Beautiful Losers documentary and features digitally-printed stills from the movie on the upper. Reportedly, 22 pairs exist.
Blazer 73 Premium
"Beautiful Loser"
n/a
unlisted as of 4/17/2019
Grails sometimes come in packs—a series of swoon-worthy shoes to mark a special occasion. Amsterdam’s sneaker mecca, Patta, crushed their 5th anniversary with one such pack in 2009-2010, releasing five different Nike Air Max 1s. Go ahead and daydream about the Quickstrike chlorophyll colorway, with its nubuck, denim and canvas upper, and its $3,200 price tag, and (see next)
Air Max 1 Patta 5th Anniv.
$3,234
as of 4/17/2019 on stockx
Air Max 1 Parra x Patta Cherrywood
The collaboration with Dutch artist Parra (Patta x Parra), for its tactile swoosh, cherrywood-colored upper and multi-hued sole. There’s 258 pairs of these, it’s said.
$7,320
as of 4/17/2019 on flight club
When the first pairs of Adidas’s Futurecraft 4Ds emerged in 2017, literally from a vat of greenish goop, aided by a process called Digital Light Synthesis which 3D-prints bespoke midsoles, the shoe instantly signaled something next level. A pair from the first run will be like having a museum piece. Cost: a sensible $2000.
Futurecraft 4d
$1,995
as of 4/17/2019 on Stadium goods
It’s a hard rule: when a Japanese design legend releases a spin on an Air Jordan 1 (in a colorway that was once merely a sample), you hunt it down. Hirsohi Fujiwara’s Fragment Royal is immaculate, the stuff of sneaker dreams.
Air Jordan 1 X Fragment
$5,495
as of 4/17/2019 on stadium goods
It might be more interesting to see Off-White and Louis Vuitton designer Virgil Abloh only allow himself to work with lesser Nike silhouettes with the idea of elevating them significantly (let’s see what he does with an Aqua Sock!). But, it’s still beautiful to watch him work an icy white Jordan 1, like this one that was released in Europe in early 2018, now trading for over four grand.
Air Jordan 1 x OFF-WHITE NRG
$4,250
as of 4/17/2019 on Stadium goods
Air Max 1/97 VF SW
Has there ever been a more hyped piece of corduroy than Sean Wotherspoon’s 2017 sunshiny Air Max 1–Air Max 97 hybrids? Likely not, and likely never again. Plus, they’re just the happiest drop in recent memory and worth having as a mood elevator alone. They’re now going for around $1000/pair.
$995
as of 4/17/2019 on goat
DJ Khaled’s red and elephant print Air Jordan 3 is nicknamed “Grateful,” for the what he felt having had the opportunity to design it. Grateful is also the name of his album, which dropped around the same time. And Grateful should be the sentiment you feel, along with extreme privilege and confidence in your ability to flex.
AIR JORDAN 3 RETRO "GRATEFUL"
$13,500
as of 4/17/2019 on flight club
Three-figure Asics may not seem like a logical phrase, but these Ronnie Fieg collabs from 2012 are beautifully detailed (split tongues, round laces), thoughtfully constructed, and evidence of a master coming into his own.
Asics Gel Lyte 3
$515
as of 4/17/2019 on goats
Supreme is more than a New York City storefront. It’s a culture all on its own. Pair its gravity with that of limited edition Nike releases and waiting in line for shoes on the street would become like waiting in line to get into the club. Supreme’s first official Nike collab, a now elusive Dunk SB Low from 2002 (original retail price: $65), remains one of its finest.
DUNK LOW PRO SB "SUPREME"
$2,400
as of 4/17/2019 on stockx
After spending a couple years writing a book about sneakers (called, naturally, SNEAKERS) the idea that a pair of coveted kicks can sell for 30 grand actually started to make sense to me. The price, at least I’ve come to think, isn’t merely about frivolity and flexing, it’s about understanding the way objects take on the kind of personal value that’s guided largely by feelings rather than by dollars-and-cents. It’s also about understanding sneaker history. Art collectors collect on the basis of context. Here, too, what people spend money on is not a purely aesthetic decision. The designer matters. The collaboration matters. The material innovation matters. So does the moment in time.
Sneakers have a secondary market—driven by retailers like Flight Club, Stadium Goods and GOAT—that boosts prices as a consequence of both scarcity and demand. I’ve been wondering how the market might evolve. But mostly, I just crush on the shoes. Here are 20 pairs I have my eye on right now.
The Holiest Grails
The 20 Most Sought-After Sneakers on the Planet
Words by Howie kahn - Design by Martin flores
Howie Kahn is the co-author of the New York Times Best Seller SNEAKERS, a contributing editor at WSJ Magazine and host of Prince Street, a podcast about food culture.
sign up for our
weekly newsletter!
Share
share
tweet
You’ll love our visual guide to the nba city
edition jerseys.
Click here for the scoop.
Like this?
Get more fresh interactive stories delivered to your inbox weekly.
DJ Khaled’s red and elephant print Air Jordan 3 is nicknamed “Grateful,” for the what he felt having had the opportunity to design it. Grateful is also the name of his album, which dropped around the same time. And Grateful should be the sentiment you feel, along with extreme privilege and confidence in your ability to flex.
AIR JORDAN 3 RETRO "GRATEFUL"
$13,500
as of 4/17/2019 on flight club
DJ Khaled’s red and elephant print Air Jordan 3 is nicknamed “Grateful,” for the what he felt having had the opportunity to design it. Grateful is also the name of his album, which dropped around the same time. And Grateful should be the sentiment you feel, along with extreme privilege and confidence in your ability to flex.
AIR JORDAN 3 RETRO "GRATEFUL"
$13,500
as of 4/17/2019 on flight club
DJ Khaled’s red and elephant print Air Jordan 3 is nicknamed “Grateful,” for the what he felt having had the opportunity to design it. Grateful is also the name of his album, which dropped around the same time. And Grateful should be the sentiment you feel, along with extreme privilege and confidence in your ability to flex.
AIR JORDAN 3 RETRO "GRATEFUL"
$13,500
as of 4/17/2019 on flight club
DJ Khaled’s red and elephant print Air Jordan 3 is nicknamed “Grateful,” for the what he felt having had the opportunity to design it. Grateful is also the name of his album, which dropped around the same time. And Grateful should be the sentiment you feel, along with extreme privilege and confidence in your ability to flex.
AIR JORDAN 3 RETRO "GRATEFUL"
$13,500
as of 4/17/2019 on flight club
DJ Khaled’s red and elephant print Air Jordan 3 is nicknamed “Grateful,” for the what he felt having had the opportunity to design it. Grateful is also the name of his album, which dropped around the same time. And Grateful should be the sentiment you feel, along with extreme privilege and confidence in your ability to flex.
AIR JORDAN 3 RETRO "GRATEFUL"
$13,500
as of 4/17/2019 on flight club
VIA
FLIGHT CLUB
price as of
3/23/21
VIA
FLIGHT CLUB
price as of
3/23/21
VIA
FLIGHT CLUB
price as of
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VIA
FLIGHT CLUB
price as of
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VIA
FLIGHT CLUB
Unavailable as of 3/23/21
VIA
FLIGHT CLUB
Unavailable as of 3/23/21
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FLIGHT CLUB
price as of
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VIA Stadium Goods
Unavailable as of 3/23/21
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FLIGHT CLUB
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FLIGHT CLUB
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VIA
FLIGHT CLUB
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VIA
FLIGHT CLUB
price as of
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VIA Stadium Goods
price as of
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VIA
FLIGHT CLUB
price as of
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VIA
FLIGHT CLUB
Unavailable as of 3/23/21
price as of
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VIA StockX
price as of
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VIA
FLIGHT CLUB
price as
of 3/23/21
VIA Stadium Goods
price as
of 3/23/21
VIA
FLIGHT CLUB
price as of
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VIA
FLIGHT CLUB
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via Stadium Goods