Virgil Abloh Louis Vuitton x Nike trainers fetch $25 million at auction

200 pairs of the Louis Vuitton and Nike Air Force 1 trainers, created by late US designer Virgil Abloh, have received a total of £18 million ($25 million) at auction.

The highest amount paid for a pair was over than $350,000, which occurred during an online sale that ran from 26 January to 8 February at Sotheby’s auction house.

The sums exceeded the initial estimates of Sotheby’s, which had started the bidding at $2,000 each pair and had predicted they would sell for between $5,000 and $15,000 each.

Available in sizes 5 - 18, the trainers marked the first release of the Louis Vuitton and Nike Air Force 1, created by Virgil Abloh in collaboration with Louis Vuitton and Nike for the Louis Vuitton SS22 collection.

The collection is made entirely from leather and embellished with Louis Vuitton's monogram and damier patterns with natural cowhide piping. Each pair was also sold with a Louis Vuitton pilot case, which features Louis Vuitton’s classic S lock closure and a luggage tag in the shape of the Nike swoosh.

Proceeds from the sale will benefit The Virgil Abloh Post-Modern scholarship fund, a scholarship set up by Virgil Abloh that supports the education of aspiring designers of Black, African-American or African descent.