Music

It's your last chance to buy Mac DeMarco's gnarly old sneakers for $20,000

by Mark Teo

January 2, 2015

While Mac DeMarco creates wonderful, Nilsson-indebted pop songs—his 2014 album, Salad Days, was among last year’s best—he’s equally celebrated for his shit-eating sense of humour, propensity to show you his ballsack, and proto-normcore fashion sense. Accordingly, the Edmonton-born goofball has unwittingly created a cult of personality: Head to one of his shows, and you’ll find legions of Viceroy-smoking, ballcap-sporting fans, many of whom dress just like the gap-toothed wonder himself. And if you count yourself as part of Team DeMarco, you’re in luck—now, you can own a pair of his ratty signature Vans.

The loveable “My Kind of Woman” singer has put his filthy, tour-tested Vans Authentics on eBay. And he’s donating the proceeds to charity—he’s donating the money to the Willie Mae Rock Camp for Girls. So, how’d DeMarco get the idea to put his old shoes, above, on eBay?

It all began when DIIV’s Zachary Cole Smith stayed over at his Brooklyn apartment. Smith left behind a sleep mask, which DeMarco auctioned on eBay for $50. So, he decided to see if his shoes would fetch a similar price, and to his surprise, a $60 pair of Vans rocketed up to $21,000 based on 168 bids. Speaking to The Village Voice, even DeMarco was bewildered at the price tag.

“The person who is buying these has either stolen their mom’s credit card or is really into the cause as well. Someone is buying essentially garbage.”

Well… He’s not lying. But on the plus side, the shoes surprisingly don’t stink—and DeMarco asked his girlfriend, Kiera, to give the ratty old sneaks the smell test. They passed! So, if you want to get in on the bidding, the auction ends on Sunday—act fast. And worry not: DeMarco has perfect seller feedback.