Sneakerheads rejoice. The highly anticipated Air Yeezy 2, a Nike sneaker designed by Kanye West, officially drops Saturday, but only a small handful of the shoes will be released for public consumption at select stores, including two in Chicago.
Chicago streetwear boutiques RSVP Gallery, 1753 N. Damen Ave., in Wicker Park and Succezz, 1329 S. Michigan Ave. in the South Loop will have a limited number of the Kanye-designed high tops available on Saturday via silent auction. A third store, Saint Alfred, 1531 N. Milwaukee Ave., also in Wicker Park, may be getting its hands on the shoes soon, but store owner Joseph Schafer said the details have not yet been officially confirmed with Nike.
"We are excited to be part of the release," Meely said. "[RSVP Gallery] basically got the shoes because our store owner has some very strong connections at Nike."
Footwear enthusiasts and Kanye fans began camping out along Damen Avenue in front of RSVP Gallery on Sunday for a chance to be first in line for the new shoes, but they were all sent home on Tuesday after the store announced that they would be doing a silent auction.
Store representative Austin Meely said RSVP Gallery wanted to avoid the chaos of a huge crowd and that they were not prepared to handle the overwhelming lines.
Managers at Succezz came to a similar conclusion. Bidding at both stores will begin at the retail price of $245 but the final bid is expected to soar much higher than that. A portion of the proceeds from RSVP's auction will go to Children's Memorial Hospital.
The Air Yeezy 2 is a follow up to the original Air Yeezy model, which was released in the spring of 2009. Meely says the updated version is a very well designed shoe, but the most interesting part is the glow in the dark soles.
RSVP Gallery will also be raffling off a pair of the new Kanye kicks. Anyone who purchases more than $200 worth of merchandise this week will be entered for a chance to win.
Chicago streetwear boutiques RSVP Gallery, 1753 N. Damen Ave., in Wicker Park and Succezz, 1329 S. Michigan Ave. in the South Loop will have a limited number of the Kanye-designed high tops available on Saturday via silent auction. A third store, Saint Alfred, 1531 N. Milwaukee Ave., also in Wicker Park, may be getting its hands on the shoes soon, but store owner Joseph Schafer said the details have not yet been officially confirmed with Nike.
"We are excited to be part of the release," Meely said. "[RSVP Gallery] basically got the shoes because our store owner has some very strong connections at Nike."
Footwear enthusiasts and Kanye fans began camping out along Damen Avenue in front of RSVP Gallery on Sunday for a chance to be first in line for the new shoes, but they were all sent home on Tuesday after the store announced that they would be doing a silent auction.
Store representative Austin Meely said RSVP Gallery wanted to avoid the chaos of a huge crowd and that they were not prepared to handle the overwhelming lines.
Managers at Succezz came to a similar conclusion. Bidding at both stores will begin at the retail price of $245 but the final bid is expected to soar much higher than that. A portion of the proceeds from RSVP's auction will go to Children's Memorial Hospital.
The Air Yeezy 2 is a follow up to the original Air Yeezy model, which was released in the spring of 2009. Meely says the updated version is a very well designed shoe, but the most interesting part is the glow in the dark soles.
RSVP Gallery will also be raffling off a pair of the new Kanye kicks. Anyone who purchases more than $200 worth of merchandise this week will be entered for a chance to win.