A new Mars Yard is set to land
Famous American contemporary artist Tom Sachs is ready to release his latest creation. For those who don’t know, Tom Sachs is famous for his contemporary art shows and sculptures. One of his most famous works of art is the ‘Space Program.’
The ‘Space Program’ itself is highly influenced by the Apollo program in the ’60s and ’70s. Sachs made sculptures and clothing specifically for this project, with lots of the materials being actual objects used for and from space. This all influenced his first shoe with Nike in 2012 known as the Nike Mars Yard 1.0, made with space materials such as left over rover airbags, boat mainsails and the fabric used for space sails.
Although the $385 shoe was thought to be durable it couldn’t last longer than a pair of Vans. So Sachs got working on a 2.0 version of the shoes that, although it looks almost identical to the first version, is much more durable, with higher-grade materials actually meant for shoes. This version of the shoe was released in 2017 with a lowered price of $200.
The unique way the shoe was released definitely made it skyrocket in the resell market; Sachs wanted people who are actual fans of his art to get the shoes and not just hypebeast or fans of streetwear. To obtain the shoe you had to make a trip to Tom Sachs Space camp in New York and do many obstacle courses, such as rope climbing, workouts and running.
Other than that they were released on some online websites but with very small quantities, running out in seconds. Now the only way to get either the 1.0 or the 2.0 in 2020 is to buy them from the resell market. However the shoe will cost a pretty penny, with the 1.0 being sold for about $8,000— but if that’s too expensive, don’t worry— the 2.0 can be found for the price of about $6,000.
If both those prices seem out of reach there is still another way to obtain one of Tom Sachs beloved shoes. This time it won’t be either the 1.0 or the 2.0, but in fact will be a new model Mars Yard 2.5 which is set to release later this year just in time for the holidays.
The new model features improved materials compared to its predecessor, however the shoe will retain its signatures details. This includes the same colors and mesh base, upper brown suede and the signature red Nike check. The main difference this time around is that it seems to have a black rubber toe box.
Although it is still unknown how the shoe will be rolled out what remains a fact is that the shoe will be extremely difficult to obtain. It is said that only about 8,000 pairs will be up for grabs, making this one of the most limited releases of the year. No matter what happens, the shoe will most likely show up on resell websites such as StockX and Goat.
The shoe is estimated to go for $5,000 which would make it one of the shoes with the most resale value this year.
“I like how Sachs does his rollout for his sneakers in order to prevent people who just want to buy it with the sole purpose of reselling it,” said Gustavo Moreno, a Footlocker employee. “What I don’t like is that there’s really no purpose to that since only a small quantity of shoes are made. Anybody who wants the shoes won’t get them unless they have a connection and that really bums me out.”
Although the exclusivity and hype have a lot to do with why these shoes gain popularity many people don’t see the point. Most likely the shoe will be impossible to get, and with only 8,000 pairs available, most people know they won’t even get close to the shoes unless they pay the ridiculous resell price.
What may be the biggest problem is that many people are afraid of how the last pair was released. It was only in New York, and although some people probably took a flight, that will be much harder to do with the COVID-19 restrictions. More than half the pairs of shoes are sold during first-day releases when it comes to limited sneakers.
If that wasn’t difficult enough buyers also have to worry about bots.
For those who don’t know bots are a major problem in the sneaker community. Essentially they are online programs that someone can buy that have all of an individual buyer’s information ready in order to buy the shoe on an online release in a matter of seconds. This defeats everyone else in line who is typing in their card information.
Since the shoes are likely first-come, first-serve, and your average kid can’t afford a bot, it is practically impossible to obtain these limited shoes. The only other option is raffling, which relies heavily on luck.
“I’ve entered so many raffles that I can’t even keep count,” said Renzo Zorillo, a past Nike employee. “I think I’ve only ever won about five pairs of shoes, it’s actually discouraging to always lose to people who don’t even want the shoes. They just buy them in order to flip and it makes it harder on everyone.”
Regardless of these shoes being up for raffle or not they will probably be the most difficult sneaker to obtain this year. A $200 shoe is expensive enough, but it’s much better than the estimated price tag of $5,000. With that being said, try every and any raffle available for this rare shoe.
