FLOAT 100 · Sneakers · No. 89
Nike Air Yeezy 2 'Red October'
Kanye West wore them on Saturday Night Live, named them in his feud with Nike and left the company before they came out, and then one Sunday afternoon in 2014 Nike sold every pair online in 11 minutes with no warning at all.
- Year
- 2014
- Maker
- Nike
- By price in sneakers
- 30 of 100
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Create a free account- Shoe
- Nike Air Yeezy 2 SP 'Red October,' all red, style 508214-660
- Released
- February 9, 2014, at 1 p.m. Eastern, online only, with no advance notice
- Retail price
- $245 per most reports at the time; some later accounts say $250
- Sold out
- In 11 minutes
- First seen
- May 18, 2013, on West's feet on Saturday Night Live
- Designer
- Nathan VanHook, with Kanye West
- Distinction
- The last Nike Air Yeezy; released after West had left Nike
- Production
- Never published; a figure of 1,000 pairs was only a rumor
The third colorway
Nike released the Air Yeezy 2 on June 9, 2012, in two colorways, 'Pure Platinum' and black 'Solar Red,' about 5,000 pairs of each by one count, and both sold out instantly. Fans assumed more would follow. In October 2012, Jordan Brand veteran Gentry Humphrey tweeted that 'things r still n the works.'
The shoe was the work of designer Nathan VanHook and West. It kept the Air Yeezy 2's molded rubber heel, the 'YZY' hieroglyphics, the snakeskin-textured side panel and the glow-in-the-dark sole, but the third colorway was a single color: red, top to bottom.
On April 5, 2013, a factory image of an all-red Air Yeezy 2 surfaced on Instagram. Six weeks later the world saw it for real.
A shoe caught in a breakup
On May 18, 2013, West performed 'Black Skinhead' and 'New Slaves' on Saturday Night Live wearing the all-red Yeezys, and Kim Kardashian posted a teaser photo the same day. On May 30, Nike's PR director said the release would not be on June 16 as rumored and was planned for later in the year. In June West announced a contest for 50 pairs.
Then the relationship fell apart. On the Yeezus Tour, which opened in Seattle on October 19, 2013, West wore the red pairs on stage and attacked Nike from the stage and on radio. He said he had asked when the Red Octobers were coming out and Nike told him it was not sure. The real dispute was royalties: 'Nike told me we can't give you royalties because you're not a professional athlete,' he said. He wanted a percentage of sales the way Michael Jordan received one from the Air Jordan.
In November 2013, in a radio interview, West announced he was moving to a rival brand. A store chain briefly listed the Red October for a late-December release, then canceled it. By early 2014 a pair was listed online for $10,000, and one fan later said he turned down an offer of $98,000 for his.
Eleven minutes on a Sunday
On Sunday, February 9, 2014, at 1 p.m. Eastern, Nike's online store posted a link on Twitter: 'The Nike Air Yeezy 2 is now available.' There had been no teaser and no leak. The price was $245 with free shipping, according to reports that day; some later retrospectives give $250.
The site strained under the traffic, and at 1:11 Nike announced the shoes were sold out. Within hours, resale listings had passed $4,000. A Nike spokesperson said there would be no restock.
The Red October was the last Air Yeezy Nike made. One reference account dates the end of Air Yeezy production to the day of the release. West had already gone, and the shoe became a souvenir of the split as much as of the partnership.
How to identify it
The Red October is a single color: all red. Look for style code 508214-660 and the 'SP' designation. It shares the Air Yeezy 2's construction: the textured snakeskin side panel, molded heel, hieroglyphic 'YZY' detail and lace toggle.
Because Nike never published production numbers and the shoe was sold online in one burst, there is no reliable count. A rumored figure of 1,000 pairs circulated in May 2013, before Nike had even set a date.
With prices this far above retail, collectors check the size tag, the style code and the history of any pair before buying.
After the last Nike Yeezy
West's next sneakers came from his new partner: the Yeezy Boost 750, unveiled at All-Star Weekend in 2015, and the Yeezy Boost 350 the same year. Kim Kardashian posted a family photo with three pairs of Red Octobers on February 15, 2014, six days after the release.
In October 2026 the lowest listing for a pair at one U.S. sneaker shop was $7,914, more than 30 times the 2014 retail price.
The numbers
- Release date
- February 9, 2014, 1 p.m. ET, online
- Retail price
- $245 (same-day reports); $250 (some later accounts)
- Style code
- 508214-660
- Sell-out time
- 11 minutes
- Production numbers
- Not published by Nike; a rumored 1,000 pairs (May 2013) was never confirmed
- Air Yeezy 2 releases
- Pure Platinum and Solar Red (June 9, 2012); Red October (February 9, 2014)
Timeline
The first two Air Yeezy 2 colorways release.
Jordan Brand's Gentry Humphrey tweets that 'things r still n the works.'
A factory image of an all-red Air Yeezy 2 appears on Instagram.
West wears the Red Octobers performing on Saturday Night Live.
Nike's PR director says the release is planned for later in the year.
West announces a contest for 50 pairs.
The Yeezus Tour opens in Seattle; West wears the shoes on stage.
West announces his move to a rival brand in a radio interview.
A store chain lists the shoe, then cancels the release.
A pair is listed online for $10,000.
Nike releases the Red October online without warning; it sells out in 11 minutes.
Kim Kardashian posts a family photo with three pairs.
A fan says he declined a $98,000 offer for his pair.
The world in 2013
West releases Yeezus.
The Seattle Seahawks beat the Denver Broncos 43-8 in the Super Bowl.
Janet Yellen becomes the first woman to chair the Federal Reserve.
The Lego Movie opens.
Jimmy Fallon debuts as host of The Tonight Show.
12 Years a Slave wins Best Picture.
Price record
| Date | Price | Kind |
|---|---|---|
| Oct 3, 2026 | $7,914 | Asking price, not a saleLowest listing at a U.S. sneaker shop; prices vary by size. |
This is an asking price, not a sale. It is what a seller wanted on the date shown. Asking prices often sit above what buyers pay, but an ask is not a ceiling: a sale can land on either side of it. It is not a value.
By reference price, Nike Air Yeezy 2 'Red October' is number 30 of 100 in the sneakers entries of the FLOAT 100. 22 of those 100 rest on a realized sale; the rest carry an asking price or a guide value, and each page says which. Rank within the FLOAT 100 itself (89 here) is editorial: how much an object defines its field, not price alone.
Did you know
- Nike announced the release with a single tweet and no warning.
- The shoes sold out in 11 minutes.
- West wore them on Saturday Night Live nine months before anyone could buy them.
- Nike released them after West had already announced he was leaving.
- One fan said he turned down $98,000 for his pair weeks after the release.
- West said Nike would not pay him royalties because he was not a professional athlete.
How this page is made
- The figure
- One reference price, shown with its own kind. FLOAT does not average it with anything or adjust it for time.
- Realized or not
- A realized price is a completed sale. An asking price, an estimate and a price-guide value are not sales, and are labeled as such wherever they appear.
- The story
- Researched from published records and checked fact by fact. Updated Oct 3, 2026.
- Archive
- Oct 5, 2026