In addition to producing mass-market shoes for athletes and Nike enthusiasts across the world, Nike has long been committed to creating small quantities of high-end collector’s item shoes as well. Now, Nike has partnered with luxury apparel company Louis Vuitton to create the Louis Vuitton x Nike “Air Force 1” by Virgil Abloh to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the Nike Air Force 1 style. The custom sneakers ranging from sizes 5 to 18, will be sold in an exclusive colorway along with an orange Taurillon Monogram leather Louis Vuitton pilot case. The shoes are made of calf leather, featuring Vuitton’s signature Monogram and Damier patterns, with natural cowhide piping. Abloh left his special mark on them with materials from his Louis Vuitton men’s collections, as well as Off-White’s signature Helvetica double-quotes.
As a limited edition collector’s item, only 200 pairs of the Louis Vuitton x Nike “Air Force 1” by the late Virgil Abloh have been produced and are being sold via an auction with a selling price of each pair estimated to fall between $5,000 and $15,000. In addition to receiving a rare and masterfully crafted pair of sneakers, those who can afford to shell out what these shoes are expected to go for can also enjoy the goodwill that comes with knowing that 100 percent of the proceeds from their purchase will go toward funding The Virgil Abloh “Post-Modern” Scholarship Fund – a fund dedicated to supporting students of academic promise of Black, African-American, and African descent. The online auction will take place starting on January 26th through February 8th.
For more on Virgil Abloh, check out Project Maybach.