High-End Sneaker Marketplace GOAT Launches LA Pop-Up Gallery

2:12 PM PDT 10/4/2017 by Kathryn Romeyn

"The Greatest" is a rotating exhibition covering the kicks-centric artists, shoes and boutiques that have shaped pop culture and the sneaker game around the world.

Paris may be known for haute couture, but by now Los Angeles is well established as a global hub for haute kicks. With its slew of stores serving sneakerheads with insatiable thirsts for limited-edition footwear, L.A. has become a destination like no other when it comes to incredibly hard to find — and expensive — sneakers.

GOAT, the sneaker marketplace, is celebrating that fact with a pop-up gallery at Culver City's Platform, called The Greatest, debuting Oct. 7 and hosting rotating exhibitions through Dec. 31. The goal, besides putting on display truly historic shoes: to celebrate the artists, sneakers and boutiques that have shaped the industry, pop culture and the experience sneaker enthusiasts crave.

To do that they're not just showing rare kicks — like collaborations with Yeezy and Kendrick Lamar — but hosting open-to-the-public sessions and Q&As with industry experts, pioneers and legends, including designer Jeff Staple, illustrator Sophia Chang, and L.A. designer and recent Nike collaborator Andrea Lieberman, whose styling workshop is currently slated for Nov. 30. 

For the grand opening for the public on Saturday, Kendall Jenner's latest beau, DJ Taco Bennett, is providing the soundtrack, and Friday night's private soiree should see sneaker-loving celebs along with Mr. Cartoon (tattoo artist to Beyonce, Eminem and Dr. Dre) and Fear of God's Jerry Lorenzo, the sneaker guru who created $1,095 Desert Storm–inspired high tops and has styled Justin Bieber. 

The first exhibit, "The Greatest: Los Angeles," pays tribute to the City of Angels' impact on the business, telling the story of its rise through 25 historically significant shoes, including Air Force 1 Mr. Cartoon, Yeezy PowerPhase Calabasas, and Air Jordan IV Undefeated. There's also a special Kobe Bryant edition Air Jordan that was never released to the public, and is reselling for $30,000. Only time will tell if the promise of merely gazing at shoes like that will create the same kind of queues as a new collab at UNDFTD.

Let's block ads! (Why?)