Cape Town - Scores of people camped outside a high-end sneaker store in the CBD from Christmas Eve, forgoing their holiday plans in a desperate attempt to get their hands on a pair of coveted Yeezy Boost 350 sneakers.
The sneakers, designed by Kanye West in collaboration with Adidas, were made available in the colour tan on Tuesday, with people paying nearly R3 000 for a pair.
Only about 50 pairs were made available for sale in Cape Town and, such is their popularity and rarity, they can sell for more than R10 000 online – over three times their asking price in the shops.
American rapper West debuted the first shoe from his new line in February – the Yeezy Boost 750, a high-top sneaker.
The Boost 350 was released in a tan colour on Tuesday, following three other versions of the low-top shoe released this year.
A group of about 30 people had been camped on the pavement opposite Shelflife in Longmarket Street since Christmas Eve waiting for the sneakers. They brought sleeping bags, lawn chairs and flasks of coffee for their stay.
The initial release of West’s new brand of sneakers was limited to 9 000 pairs to be available only in New York via an official Adidas smartphone app.
The shoes sold out within 10 minutes, crashing Adidas’s app almost immediately.
Since February, West has released two colour versions of the high-top sneaker as well as a new, low-top shoe – the Yeezy Boost 350.
The same method was used for the subsequent releases, with only a handful of pairs given to select stores around the world.
The tan version released on Tuesday was only available at Shelflife in the CBD and at the Adidas Original store in the V&A Waterfront.
The previous pairs had been released at the Adidas store in Canal Walk. Each store only received 25 pairs of the shoes.
Ashley Benn, of Shelflife, explained the process of the Yeezy releases: “The demand is so high that the only way you can get a pair is to camp out. We don’t accept walk-ins for these shoes.” The shoes retail for R2 999, a steep price for most sneakers. However, because of the sneaker’s limited edition status, Benn says many people sell them online the second they buy a pair. “They can sell for more than R10 000,” he said.
The stores manage the crowd by giving the first arrivals a ticket with a number. They then do random roll-calls on the hour and if your number is called and you aren’t there, your place is given to someone else.
“We see people who actually hire people to stand in the queue for them. There are also people in the queue who know they won’t get a pair but wait around for days in case someone else drops out.”
The Yeezy shoes have been seen on the feet of some of the world’s most famous people. In September, Kim Kardashian, West’s wife, posted an image of two pairs of the shoes with a label reading “Obama” on it, a special delivery for the US president.
Cape Argus