It seems like the trend of rappers starting their own sneaker lines will not fade away too soon. After 50 Cent, Pharrell Williams, Missy Elliot and others, it is now Eminem’s turn to show the world his footwear design skills.
The white rapper has a charity foundation called Marshall Mathers Foundation, which offers help to various organizations that work to bring educational programs to children in refugee camps all over the world.
Unlike other musicians, Eminem accepted Nike’s offer to design a line of sneakers in order to raise money for charity. Of course, he also couldn’t resist the idea to have his own sport shoe line.
The deal was for Eminem to redesign 64 pairs of Nike’s limited edition of Air Max trainers, including the Air Max '87 (originally designed by Tinker Hatfield, probably the best known sneakers designer in the world) and the more recent Air Max 360. Each one isunique and features an autograph from the designer.
When asked to comment on the collaboration deal with Nike, Eminem had this to say: “If you told me ten years ago that I'd be designing this whole series of Air Max-es, I never would have believed it.”
“It's one of the hottest lines that Nike ever produced, so I'm honored to make my own contribution. My only problem was figuring out how to make the shoes different from stuff they've already done: Nike always has the dopest color combos.”
The Eminem sneakers were auctioned on eBay and in exclusive stores like NikeTown London, NikeTown Berlin and Nike Store Paris, together with various events at those locations. The auctions started on 31 August and ended on the 3rd October 2006, on each session two exclusive sneakers being presented.
I don’t have exact figures of how high the price went, but I expect there were plenty of rich sneaker collectors who were glad to pay thousands to have them.
As expected, the Eminem sneaker line turned out extraordinary. Eminem truly is an artist.
Here's an interesting list of footwear lines designed by popular rappers.
G Unit Sneakers by 50 Cent
Eminem Sneakers
Ice Cream Sneakers by Pharrell Williams
Missy Elliot Adidas Sneakers
Daddy Yankee Sneakers
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