It is a sign, they say, picking up the sandal from the sandy ground and stretching it to the sky. A sign of the Messiah, one disciple is sure. Another wants to wear only one sandal from now on, now that Master has set this example. Seldom has a sandal been more revered than in Monty Python’s classic film The Life of Brian, which follows the life of an unwilling messiah.
But according to the news announced by the American auction house Julien’s, there is a new sandal that is enthroned on the Birkenstock Olympus. It is perhaps the most expensive in the world: 218,750 dollars (equivalent to around 210,000 euros) were these brown, worn-out ones Birkenstock sandals worth a bidder. Which is less due to the dubious beauty of the shoes, but much more to who once welded the footbed: Steve Jobs.
The Apple co-founder is said to have a special relationship with Birkenstock sandals anyway. The Birkenstock, model Arizona, were “part of his uniform”, reported the fashion-conscious Vogue already five years ago. Fascinated by the shape and material, Jobs wanted to find out everything about the shoes. Birkenstock shoes have always had a special image in Germany. The target group: somewhere between math teachers and recreational beekeepers. The nickname: Jesus slippers. And that’s where Steve Jobs comes full circle, who is admired by some in a similar way to Brian in Monty Python’s film.
When Jobs built Apple in 1976, he wore the sandals
The tech messiah wore the now auctioned pair mainly in the 1970s and 1980s, you can find out on the auction business page. It’s probably there as a value-enhancing argument. It also had to be mentioned at the auction that Jobs wore this pair on his feet at crucial moments in the company’s business. Jobs wore these sandals “occasionally” in 1976 while he was building Apple with Steve Wozniak in a Los Altos garage, it says. Reason enough, by the way, to exhibit the Birkenstock in a museum several times in the past. In the Landesmuseum Stuttgart, among others. Certainly also a value-enhancing argument.
In addition to the aura of the master, which the buyer probably hopes for in the Birkenstocks, another fact could have driven the price. The sandals from Linz am Rhein are in extremely high demand right now. So much so that the New York Times recently dedicated a text to the “hot-ticket item” (loosely translated: the latest craze). Of course, the trend comes from social media, where the shoes are celebrated. As a result, individual models are sold out in shoe stores and are only available on Ebay. Fast times for twice the price. the New York Times even spoke to a 27-year-old woman who paid $330 for her pair of Birkenstocks. Mind you for shoes that have never been worn by any celebrity. So maybe the buyer of the Jobs sandal just finally wanted a pair of Birkenstocks.