Birkenstocks over $200,000, is that reasonable?

We knew the speculation surrounding the crazy sneaker. We also knew that the popularity of Boston-model Birkenstock clogs had driven their prices particularly insane on the second-hand market. We thought we had seen it all, to be honest, until Sunday. Indeed, a pair of sandals worn by Steve Jobs in the early days of Apple sold for $218,750 at a New York auction this weekend. Crazy price (way above estimate, namely $60,000) for a pair of shoes. And a story that feels like a hoax.

The pair in question, the famous German brand’s Arizona model in brown suede, were worn by Steve Jobs (and, judging by their clothing, not just once) in the 1970s and 1980s during “very important moments in Apple’s history.” “, according to Julien’s Auctions, the auction house responsible for this auction.

It’s the highest price ever paid for a pair of sandals at auction, Julien’s Auctions CEO Martin Nolan told NPR, and a record for shoes at the auction house, which was founded in 2003 by Culver in the City. .

Sale of souvenirs, clothes, jewelry of pop culture figures

The shoes were sold at auction.”Icons and idols. Rock’n’RollKanye West’s $1.8 million Yeezys at Sotheby’s in April 2021 US entrepreneur Jerome Sapp’s memorabilia, clothing, jewelry and musical instruments of pop culture figures including Elvis Presley, Kurt Cobain and John Lennon . in this case a prototype, never worn, that’s the difference…

Because these famous sandals are far from museum piece condition, their soles and straps show the signs of time. This does not prevent them from being of great value to collectors. They would be sold by an anonymous person who bought them from Mark Scheff, Steve Jobs’ former housekeeper in the 1980s when he lived in Albany, California. He, in his words, would have saved them from a much less glorious fate: the founder of Apple had simply thrown them into the trash.

Since then they have enjoyed a glorious second life. they were exhibited at the Salone del Mobile in Milan, Italy in 2017, at Birkenstock’s headquarters in Rams, Germany, and in 2017 at Birkenstock’s first US store in SoHo, New York at IMM. Cologne, a furniture fair in Cologne, at Zeit Event Berlin for Die Zeit magazine in 2018, and more recently at the Württemberg History Museum in Stuttgart.

If the buyer of these collectibles wanted to remain anonymous, the auction house slips that the winner would bid from the lounge of the Hard Rock Cafe in New York’s Times Square. He won the bet against the Chinese contestant. However, from a purely hygienic point of view, this purchase (which is accompanied by NFT) raises several questions. Including the smell. ” They only smell successIn the words of Martin Nolan. This calms us down.