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Thousands of sneakerheads flooded the Brooklyn Navy Yard warehouse for Sneaker Con 2025 on Sunday, August 10th, 2025. At the main entrance located at Clinton Avenue, there was a sneaker store located at the entrance inside a van. It was a sneaker store on wheels with black-owned entrepreneur Nora Smiles (IG@nora.smiles), aka The Sneaker Lady.

She took a moment to explain why she decided to attend Sneaker Con. “I decided to come to Sneaker Con to put my face out there!” said Smiles. “I decided to come to Sneaker Con because everybody knows about Sneaker Con, and it’s where it’s at, and you run into a lot of different people. Different people, different sneakers, different clothes, and I want to see what is out here!” she said.

Sneaker Con is the world’s biggest premier sneaker show with over 300,000 attendees. The trade show travels up to 30 cities globally. Originally starting in August 2008, co-founders Alan and Barry Vingradov and the Founder of SneakerNews, Yu-Ming, launched Sneaker Con with a vision to provide a destination for the sneaker community to engage.

In March 2009, Sneaker Con had its official launch in Times Square, and in May 2017, it expanded internationally to London and Hong Kong. In October 2020, they partnered up with eBay and successfully opened up six warehouses in New York, Las Vegas, Toronto, London, Berlin, and Sydney. At this year’s Sneaker Con, Monster Energy Drinks partnered up with Sneaker Con and provided free drinks throughout the two-day event.

Heading up the winding road to the massive 100,00 square feet Brooklyn Storehouse in Building 293, where top vendors, collectors, and fans from all over the country came to buy, trade, and sell sneakers.

When entering the gigantic warehouse, there was access to exclusive and limited-edition sneakers, which included athletic and luxury sneakers. Sneaker Con didn’t just cover sneakers, but merchandise related to sneakers, which included keychains, t-shirts, hats, headphones, speakers, tote bags, rugs, and toys.

Many vendors grab an opportunity to promote their brands, like the Designer and Founder of Good Ol’ Days (G.O.D) Clothing(IG@goodoldays_21), Corner Lash from Champagne, Illinois.
“I am representing the brand that was started back in 2021,” said Lash. “ I came to Sneaker Con to build an organic fan base to spread good cheer and good vibes, and that’s what I want to do with my brand,” he said

Other independent designers took advantage of the event to meet and greet customers. Harlem-based designer Shirley Nueva, founder of Female/Black-owned Noerand Claire (IG@noerandclaire). The men’s and women’s streetwear brand came as a vendor for Sneaker Con. “People come here for sneakers, but they need a fit to go with those sneakers.”said Nueva. “ I came to Sneaker Con because it’s my vibe, and predominantly streetwear. All of my items are made from scratch and are designed and manufactured by me. I need to get my name out and get people in,” she said.

Going through the tables at Sneaker Con, there were endless opportunities to see exclusive sneakers that normally wouldn’t be on the market. The prices were sky-high, with one vendor having the only Nike SB Dunk Low “Chunky Dunky” collaboration sneakers with Ben & Jerry sneakers that dropped in May 2020. These sneakers became one of the most sought-after sneakers of that year. The vendor had the original Ben & Jerry’s Ice Cream show box and is selling it for $2,700.

Vendor IG@le_shoechainz had a pair of Louis Vuitton holographic Jordan 4 from the Virgil Abloh and Louis Vuitton Spring/Summer 2020 collection. According to the vendor, “ This sneaker was made from an actual LV duffle, and the sneakers come with their duffle bag as a carrying case. Roughly, you are looking $25,000,” he said.

At the sneaker and streetwear retailer Jawns on Fire (IG@jawns.on.fire), they had a display of exclusive sneakers like the Nike Dunk Low CPFM covered entirely in Swarovski crystals from the toe to the tongue to the heel. This was retailing for over $5,000. Other sneakers that Jawns on Fire had were the SB Dunk Low Grateful Dead Bears Green, featuring a fuzzy faux-fur upper with suede overlays and jagged Swoosh, going for an average of $1,500

Moving to the next vendor’s table and was locked in a glass case was the original 2003and designed by Todd Jordan, the Dunk Hi Premium “Deftones”, named after the alternative metal band from Sacramento, CA. The sneakers were signed by all the band members and were retailing for $40,000, making them the most expensive after Nike Dunks to date.

Money was no object with one seller having an original pair of Dior x Air Jordan 1 High, originally dropped in 2020, and went viral for being the most high-profile sneakers, as they were worn by Billionaire Kylie Jenner. Also called Air Dior, these sneakers were selling for a retail price of $7,000, and the Nike Air Yeezy 2 Red October featuring a reptilian texture that are retailing for $9,000.

Entering another table, there was an exclusive pair of Red and Black SRGN Air Jordan 1 Retro High going for $1,500 and covered entirely in glitter to mimic the look of sugar and confetti. The Limited–Edition Ultimate Trump 47 Crypto Bitcoin Gold High Top Sneakers for over $1,000. The Jordan 1 Retro Low OG Trophy Room Rookie Home Red and Black Sneakers that dropped last year and were rumored to only release 1,000 pairs were retailing at Sneaker Con for a whopping $5,000.

With all the sky-high prices, Sneaker Con offers services to make sure a customer gets the real deal, since there are knock-offs on the market. Sneaker Con offers authentication and sneaker restoration booths. Each booth was offering verification of the realness of the sneaker and services to clean pre-owned sneakers, to bring sneakers to the best condition for possible resale.

Many shoppers also took advantage of the event of reselling children’s sizes in many popular sneakers like Infant Jordans and Toddler Air Force 1. Infant and toddler sneakers were reselling and traded for up to $180-$200.

“I’m here just vibing!” said Rochelle (IG@shimmyshimmyya_), a Sneaker Con Restoration Specialist. She was live-streaming sneaker authentication throughout the event. “Today, the most expensive sneakers I saw were the Nike SB Dunk Low Heineken Green, White, and Red Sneakers in size 10, which were authenticated for about $5,000-$6,000,” she said.

Some more sneakers that are under the $1,000 price range are the Nike SB Low Pro QS Grateful Dead in Yellow that originally were released in 2020 with the original box priced at $700, the All Black Kobe Mambacita for $620, the Nike CPFM Air Flea 1 in Black with original box priced at $420, the Hamburger Nike Sneakers that come with original box and French Fry keychain priced at $295.

Even if you’re a Sneaker lover and don’t have enough to afford these high sneaker prices. Sneaker Con hosted a live giveaway in the last two hours of the event. With the live DJ named DJ Sneaker Head (IG@dj0.z). Sneaker Con participants were randomly chosen to come on stage and played a raffle to win a free pair of sneakers, a free Sneaker Con t-shirt, or an eBay gift card worth up to $200. Some lucky winners won a free pair of Air Force 1 and Kobe Force 1 or an eBay gift card with a free portable charger.

There will also be the Jus Nice Sneaker Convention at the New Jersey Convention and Exposition Center on September 20th from 12 PM-5 PM

Sneaker Con 2025 in Brooklyn came down to the final moments, but we will move on to more trade shows this year. Sneaker Con’s next show will be in Dallas on August 23rd-24th, in California on September 6th-7th, and in Minneapolis on September 27th.

The full calendar of upcoming events can be found at sneakercon.com.