Luxury goods broker Sotheby’s has sold a pair of out-of-this-world New Balance sneakers for $13,200.
Inspired by “Don’t Look Up”—the Jennifer Lawrence- and Leonardo di Caprio-starring Netflix film about a comet that is poised to destroy the Earth—the extra-terrestrial kicks feature fragments of a 4.5 billion-year-old pallasite meteorite embedded in the upper. Sotheby’s put the shoes up for sale Friday, a week ahead of the film’s online debut.
Manchester-based sneaker designer Matt Burgess of MattB Customs created the sneakers using a white-and-gray New Balance 550 silhouette. The shoes incorporate 34 fragments of pallasite meteorite, each cut to size using a high-pressure water jet.
Though Sotheby’s has auctioned off rare shoes in the past—this April, a prototype of the Nike Air Yeezy 1 sold for a stunning $1.8 million—it did not do the same this time around. Instead, as it did in February with a pair of presidential Nike Hyperdunks, it simply sold them at price to the first buyer.
The “Don’t Look Up” sneakers are not the first pricy piece of fashion to draw inspiration from a Netflix property. Last month, the streaming giant teamed with French luxury fashion house Balmain to drop a collection of western apparel inspired by the Idris Elba and Regina King feature “The Harder They Fall.” The suede-filled line features a range of women’s and men’s options, including eight items with a listed price above $1,000. The most expensive item, an embroidered fringed suede spencer jacket, costs $8,095.
The collection is one of the many to come to Netflix’s online shop. Introduced in early June, the platform debuted with limited-edition streetwear and action figures based on the anime series “Yasuke” and “Eden,” as well as apparel and decorative items inspired by the global hit show “Lupin” in collaboration with the Louvre Museum. In October, as “Squid Game” mania swept the world, the streamer used the shop to launch a line of customizable T-shirts based on the South Korean survival drama.
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Meanwhile, it appears New Balance, the label behind Sotheby’s meteorite sneakers, will join the growing ranks of brands trying to embrace gender inclusivity. Last week, gender fluid musician Tash Sultana announced on Instagram that they were joining New Balance as a brand ambassador.
“There has and always will be people like me who don’t fit into the typical gender norms and it’s time that big brands follow the lead of where we are headed,” the Australian singer-songwriter wrote. “New Balance are a brand who are taking a step into the future by supporting gender inclusivity and all people. This is what being fearlessly independent is all about.”