Collecting Rare Sneakers from Japan longreads.com

Japan became a producer of highly sought after limited-edition sneakers in the 1990s.
Now rare sneaker culture has crossed from Japanese collectors into the global mainstream, where a new wave of enthusiasts seek Japan’s rare shoes for both fun and profit, often paying exhorbitant prices on the secondary market.
Now, the first thing the customers want to know is, ‘Is this a limited edition?’ or, ‘Is this rare?’ That’s not so bad if it’s something that gets them into sneakers.
“If we hadn’t had a dress code, it would have been 3,000 or 4,000.”The high demand for limited-edition sneakers means only a chosen few will be able to buy them through official retailers such as Atmos.
As the global sneaker market continues to grow, so does the number of convincing-looking fakes in circulation.