‘SUCH A CRAZY DEMAND’

Rare ‘Air Jordan 1’ Sneakers Expected to Pull in $400,000 at Auction

The original protoype is accompanied by a letter penned by the shoe’s designer, the late Peter Moore.

An unworn pair of the 1985 predecessor to the revolutionary Air Jordan 1 sneaker will hit auction on Tuesday, expecting to fetch an eye-popping sum of $400,000. “Jordan remains THE name,” said Armen Salemi, the head of Heritage Auctions sneaker division, according to the New York Daily News. “Anything with Jordan’s name is going to fly off the shelves. There’s such a crazy demand.” Tuesday’s auction at Heritage will showcase some 100 shoes, including a pair previously owned by Kobe Bryant, as well as three pairs of Louis Vuitton X Nike Lows inspired by New York hip-hop duo Rob Base and DJ E-Z Rock. The Air Jordan prototype, which broke the mold with its three-color design based on Michael Jordan’s team at the time, the Chicago Bulls, comes with a letter of authenticity signed by the shoe’s designer, the late Peter Moore, who sketched their now-iconic design on the back of a cocktail napkin while aboard a plane.