NETFLIX UNVEILS THE DIBIASKY 550s – THE RAREST SNEAKERS IN THE UNIVERSE

To celebrate the release of Adam McKay’s Don’t Look Up, Netflix has announced a pair of custom sneakers that are literally out of this world, featuring stunning fragments of pallasite meteorite discovered in the dry bed of the river Hekandue – Magadan District, Russia (62°54′ N, 152°26′ E).

Only one pair of the custom Dibiasky 550s will ever exist, so the countdown is on for the sneaker community to claim a piece of sneaker history as third as old as time itself.

The ultra-rare extra-terrestrial sneakers will drop on Sothebys.com at 5pm GMT on 17th December 2021, available for immediate purchase via Sotheby’s online Buy Now platform. On offer for £10,000, proceeds will benefit WWF in a bid to reduce human impact on the environment.

The meteorite emblazoned sneakers were created in tribute to Jennifer Lawrence’s character Kate Dibiasky, an astronomy grad student, who alongside her professor Dr. Randall Mindy (Leonardo DiCaprio) makes an astounding discovery of a comet that is on a direct collision course with Earth.

The Seymchan meteorite used to create the sneakers was born 4.5 billion years ago in the core of a comet or asteroid similar to Don’t Look Up’s fictional Dibiasky Comet. The sneaker’s meteorite fragments originated from the core-mantle boundary of an asteroid or comet that broke apart during early solar system history. Following pinball-like impacts, the large mass was serendipitously bumped into an Earth-crossing orbit.

Manchester-based sneaker designer Matt Burgess of MattB Customs created the sneakers using the coveted New Balance 550 silhouette and fragments of the Seymchan meteorite precisely cut using a high-pressure water jet. The fragments were cut to within a millimetre of Matt’s design to ensure the meteorite fits to the contours of the already rare New Balance 550 White / Grey sneaker.

The custom Dibiasky 550s comprise of 34 fragments featuring extra-terrestrial crystals of gleaming olivine and peridot, ranging in hues from emerald to amber. The crystals are the result of small chunks of the stony mantle becoming suspended in the molten metal of an asteroid’s iron-nickel core.

The Dibiasky 550s’ metallic lace locks feature latticework referred to as a Widmanstätten pattern, which is a result of the meteorite cooling over millions of years. The only place where this can happen is in the vacuum of space; the appearance of this pattern is diagnostic in the identification of a meteorite.

The Dibiasky 550s tongue panels also feature mathematical calculations captured from Dr Randall Mindy’s whiteboard in Don’t Look Up. Derived from Keplar Law, this mathematical process is still the basis of algorithms used to predict the current and future positions of comets. Johannes Kepler first proposed these rules in the early part of the seventeenth century.

Brahm Wachter, Sotheby’s Head of Streetwear & Modern Collectables, commented: “It’s not every day we have the opportunity to offer a one-of-one pair of sneakers that technically date over four billion years old. At Sotheby’s, we’ve had the extraordinary pleasure to offer some of the most amazing and special sneakers ever created, but few can rival the uniqueness of this incredible pair. We look forward to bringing this incredible item to market.”

Matt Burgess of MattB Customs commented: “This movie shines a light on science and its importance in contextualizing our place in the universe. When you touch a piece of rock that has been hurtling through space for a third of time itself, it’s hard not to be humbled by it. Creating this shoe was an experience that will stay with me forever.”