The story of Apple's rare $50K sneakers
Design Ideas and Random Thoughts
Read Time: 4 min
Wise words:
“Fashion is a parasite on style”
– Elizabeth Hawes, (1905–1977) was an American fashion designer and outspoken critic of the fashion industry. In her 1938 book Fashion is Spinach, she championed personal style over fleeting trends, challenging the notion that fashion dictated taste.
Made me think:
🧠 Von Restorff Effect (Isolation Effect)
People are more likely to remember items that stand out from a uniform group. Coined by Hedwig von Restorff in 1933, this principle explains why a single unique object captures attention.
When Apple Made Sneakers: The Story of the Employee-Only Trainer.
Forget Steve Jobs’ worn Birkenstocks. In the mid-1990s, Apple gifted its employees a sneaker that has since become one of the most coveted and obscure pieces of Apple memorabilia: the Apple Employee-Only Sneakers. These all-white trainers, crafted by Omega Sports under license to display Apple’s iconic rainbow logo, were designed exclusively for a one-time National Sales Conference. They were never intended for public sale; their purpose was to foster team spirit and internal brand pride during a period when Apple was experimenting with lifestyle products and corporate merchandise, not launching consumer footwear.
The design reflects a quintessential 1990s court/trainer silhouette, featuring a perforated toebox for breathability and a visible-air midsole for cushioning—a style familiar to sneaker enthusiasts of the era. Branded with the rainbow Apple marks that were in use from 1977 to 1998, the shoes embody a rare intersection of tech culture and sneaker design. No individual designer has been publicly credited, which only adds to their mystique.
Over the years, these sneakers have surfaced sporadically on the secondary market. A worn pair sold via Heritage Auctions in 2020 for around $9,687, while other auctions in Europe have seen prices range from €14,000 to €27,000. Most notably, Sotheby’s listed a NIB (New In Box) pair in 2023 at a flat $50,000, highlighting the extraordinary demand and rarity of these employee-only trainers. Their scarcity is compounded by the lack of a verified production number—coverage consistently refers to them as “one of the most obscure” Apple items ever made.
The sneakers sit within the broader lineage of The Apple Collection, a mail-order line launched in 1986 that included T-shirts, tracksuits, hats, watches, and even a branded wind sail. This short-lived lifestyle venture coincided with a turbulent era for Apple, spanning late Macintosh expansions and mid-1990s Power Macintosh and Performa models. While the line itself failed to gain traction with consumers, the employee-only sneakers stand out as a retro gem, blending nostalgia, corporate culture, and design savvy.
Today, surviving pairs are mostly in the hands of private collectors, Apple memorabilia specialists, and high-end sneaker enthusiasts. A few have even appeared on the feet of celebrities like Travis Scott at Apple events. Public records suggest that only a handful of documented pairs exist worldwide—likely in the single- to very low double-digits—making each one a rare artifact of tech and design history.
The $50K pair sold at Sothebys
For designers, the Apple Employee-Only Sneakers offer a compelling question: when a product is created purely for internal culture, what qualities transform it decades later into an aspirational, collectible object?
My Recommends this week:
🎥 The Thinking Game | Full documentary | Tribeca Film Festival
Filmed over five years by the team behind AlphaGo, (Demis Hassabis & John Jumper) the documentary follows DeepMind’s quest to master complex games and solve a 50-year-old protein folding problem, blending science, creativity, and obsession. REALLY AMAZING!
👉 Watch it here
🧠 BambuLab H2C 3D Printer
A desktop 3D printer that revolutionizes design studios: fast, precise, and capable of printing diverse materials. Ideal for prototyping footwear components, accessories, and experimental shapes—perfect for designers who want to iterate rapidly and push creative boundaries. - game changer! (see our 3D below)
👉 Check it out here
👟 Footwear Prototypes
For a deep dive into innovative footwear design where I share original concepts, explore unique shoe materials, and discuss design strategy—all curated for anyone passionate about shoemaking, luxury design, and seeing fresh stuff, check out & follow my LinkedIn feed