American multinational technology company, Apple is known for its high-end luxury gizmos, be it the iPhones that have people lining up outside the Apple store overnight, the laptops, desktops, hand-held devices, watches, etc. And Apple is not only a leader when it comes to such products, but it also has a cult-like following that has people waiting religiously for the newest Apple product (despite minimal changes in design and function) so that they can throw their hard (or not so hard) earned money at it!
So much so that Merriam-Webster has even added the term ‘sheeple’ to its online dictionary, and the example is a direct dig at Apple product lovers. The definition reads, “sheeple,” or “people who are docile, compliant, or easily influenced.” The dicitionary also went ahead and took the liberty of quoting CNN technology columnist Doug Criss as the example, writing, “Apple’s debuted a battery case for the juice-sucking iPhone — an ungainly lumpy case the sheeple will happily shell out $99 for.”
Until now it was the iPhone 12 that had these Apple aficionados drooling and waiting as they saved up to pay the unnecessarily exorbitant amount for a phone, however a pair of sneakers designed by Apple back in the 1990s have now stolen the show when they were recently auctioned for around $10,000 ($9,687, which is about Rs 7,30,000). So someone paid that much money for a pair of promotional Apple shoes, in the times of Covid, when most of us don’t even have enough disposable income lying around to make it to next months rent.
The pair of white sneakers, a size nine and a half, had the vintage Apple rainbow logo on it, which the tech giants used between 1977 and 1998.
It isn’t uncommon for conglomerates to give their employees products like cups, stationery, etc with the brand’s logo, in a bid to increase visibility and to also show the employee’s affiliation to the company. However, Apple decided to step outside the box, like always and went for sneakers instead, a product the company has nothing to do with. Which is probably why it piqued the interest of around 20 bidders at the auction, thanks to the company’s ties to Heritage Auctions. The bidding was in light of Apple completing 44 years in the tech game this coming April Fools’ Day.
Interestingly, as Art News reported, the shoes inspired Versace to produce a prototype based on them two years ago. Well, if it’s good enough for Versace, we guess they must be worth the fuss.
Well, we don’t know if the bidder will ever wear these shoes, maybe they aren’t the right size, but they definitely have a piece of history with them.
