I couldn’t help but write about this. You might already know about these, which means you think they are as cool as I do. Nike has decided to build a limited edition set of the Nike MAG shoes from Back to the Future Part II as part of their “It’s About Time” collection. These shoes have until now only existed as movie props. People have been begging Nike to actually make them for years – and here they are. There will be 1,500 pairs made – every single one will be auctioned off on eBay from now until September 18th, 2011.
Every kid who has ever seen the Back to the Future movies has wanted at least part of what they saw in the films to be real. 26 years later and we don’t really have much. No time machines, no hover boards, no flying cars. Not even flux capacitors. And we certainly don’t have self lacing, self drying shoes that make cool wooshing noises. Though we have had shoes with lights in them for a while… And look at the state of our civilization now. The 2011 Nike MAG doesn’t fully live up to its 1989 promise, but is here and is a reality as a perfect replica. All the tech toys we wanted it to have aren’t here, but it does light up and has a battery charger that comes with it.
While this is not a watch, and it does not tell the time, it is tangentially related to time travel. Good enough right? It is however a very cool collectible that many people will eagerly try to buy. Why did Nike make them? Well last year they released the Dunk 6.0 DeLorean shoes as a limited edition of 1000 pairs that were a silent nod to the 25th anniversary of the original Back to the Future. I think the easy success and publicity those shoes had helped fuel the decision to make these MAGs.
According to Nike the full proceeds from auction sales for all 1,500 pairs will go to the Michael J. Fox Foundation that is dedicated to finding a cure and treatments for Parkinson’s disease. This means that the entire project is essentially for charity. Nike claims the shoes are a direct aesthetic replica of the movie prop shoes from the film. In Back to the Future Part II Marty McFly actually travels to 2015 – so perhaps in a few years we will get the real deal. I do not believe that the Nike MAG 2011 shoes will be commercially available outside of the eBay auctions.
The auctions started last night and I believe go for 24 hours each. All 1,500 pairs are available in eBay’s Fashion Vault. Sizes for the shoes are 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, and 13. As cultural icons these shoes are great. If I had a pair it would be really hard to wear them. I have a feeling that most of them are going to go for very handsome prices. Check out the Nike MAG shoe auctions here.
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