Who pays a million dollars for these porcelain sneakers?
The international sportswear brand together with MEISSEN, the oldest German porcelain manufacturer in Europe, decided to come together to produce a very special pair of sneakers, which will be auctioned through Sotheby's, with the expectation of starting with a base of 70 thousand dollars to reach a million dollars. The amount of the auction will be donated to the Brooklyn Museum to support access to arts education for helpless youth in New York.
Although it is generically called "the porcelain sneaker", it is produced with leathers, textiles and porcelain pieces that are located on the heel counter and tongue.
The sneaker is aesthetically treated like a piece of porcelain. Hence the presence of arabesques, floral drawings and ornaments typical of this style, hand painted by four prominent MEISSEN artists.
The theme was inspired by the opulent Meissen Krater Vase, a historical ceramic piece designed in 1856 by Ernst Leuteritz.
According to Till Jagla, Global Director of ADIDAS, “the manufacturing process was very complex and it took us more than a year to finish the product. Only the manual painting required 6 months to complete".
Tillmann Blaschke, CEO of MEISSEN said that “it was a great honor for our brand and painters to have worked on a unique project with ADIDAS. It was a challenge for our craftsmen to make the paintings on leather, since due to its characteristics it absorbs colors immediately and it is not possible to make corrections”.
The sneaker-work of art was made on the iconic ADIDAS ZX8000 model for running.
While the project focused on a single pair, both ADIDAS and MEISSEN are developing the idea of more accessible industrial production for fans of both brands.
RELATED ARTICLE: