Michael Jordan, Mona Lisa, Mona Lisa of Sneakers, Melbourne, E-Bay, 100 other rare shoes, Covid-19 lockdowns, style rivals Jordan, Air Jordans, first sneaker collaboration
Michael Jordan's "Mona Lisa of Sneakers" is on display in Melbourne
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Michael Jordan’s old high-tops and around 100 other rare shoes were on display in Melbourne on Friday, offering a glimpse into a lucrative market driven by die-hard “sneakerheads” and eager investors. E-Bay opened the three-day Museum of Authentics in an apparent bid for a larger share of the booming sneaker resale market during the pandemic.
“We’re essentially showcasing and displaying some of the world’s rarest, most iconic sneakers,” Alaister Low, an eBay sneaker expert, told AFP ahead of the store’s opening in the city’s trendy suburb Brunswick.

Jordan wore the signed Air Jordans, dubbed the “Mona Lisa of sneakers” by Low, on the court in 1985, and a similar pair sold at auction in 2020 for 560,000 US dollars (532,000 euros) – the most expensive shoes ever sold at the time.

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College Dropout Bapestas, Kanye West’s first sneaker collaboration, are featured alongside the Chicago Bulls’ footwear.

West’s style rivals Jordan’s, with a pair of Nike Air Yeezys worn by the rapper fetching $1.8 million last year.

Building a collection is more than just about money for the owner of the Air Jordans on display.

“Actually, it’s all about, much like a passion. Yes, I simply adore sneakers because I never resell them “Michael Fan, who lent a small selection of his 700-shoe collection to the exhibition, stated.
Fan, whose shoe collection fills a carefully organised basement in his Melbourne home, described the sneakers as a gamble if approached solely for financial gain.

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“There will be a high risk if you put the investment as a first priority.”

He went on to say that the market for rare shoes was “going crazy,” with the values of some in his collection increasing by more than 100 times their original cost in the last decade.

Low agrees, adding that Covid-19 lockdowns accelerated the trend.
“Sneakers have just exploded in terms of growth, such as on eBay, where we’ve seen triple-digit growth in sneakers over the last three years,” he said.

eBay, like several other online retailers, including Detroit-based StockX, which was valued at more than 3.5 billion dollars last year, is touting its ability to ensure that shoes traded on its platform are authentic.

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Before granting an authentication certificate, the online retailer claims that its “Authenticity Guarantee” service has experts examine every detail, including “logo placement, stitching, leather quality, and even smell.”