rare scene played out at Grand Indonesia mall in Central Jakarta on Friday night, as hundreds of people formed long lines to get what might just be the most desired local sneakers in the country.
Twitter user Eki Putra Wiratama reported on his account @ekiwiratama a situation in which a crowd swarmed Grand Indonesia's forecourt at around 10 p.m. on Friday.
The crowd was apparently waiting for the sale on Saturday of limited sneakers from local brand Compass.
“These people are lining up in front of Grand Indonesia’s West Mall to buy Compass sneakers. The mall's gate will open tomorrow morning at 10, though," he said.
Antrean calon pembeli sepatu Compass di West Mall, Grand Indonesia. Padahal open gate jam 10.00 pagi, sekarang 22.37 😔 pic.twitter.com/gTvIf1pybN
— Eki Putra Wiratama (@ekiwiratama) December 13, 2019
Compass, which started in Bandung, West Java, was set to release its new collection in a collaboration with Indonesia's prominent denim brands Pot Meets Pop and Oldblue Co during the annual denim exhibition Wall of Fades 2019 at Grand Indonesia on Dec. 14.
However, the brand, along with denim community Darahku Biru, which organized the event, decided to cancel the release right after witnessing the uncontrollable excitement of the sneakerheads.
"We're deeply sorry that the release of Compass for Darahku Biru has to be cancelled," a man said through a loudspeaker before the crowd. Footage of the announcement was posted on Compass' official Instagram account @sepatucompass.
Read also: Atmos takes part in Urban Sneaker Society, announces Jakarta store
The brand initially planned to sell 240 pairs of Compass x Pot Meets Pop at the Wall of Fades out of 420 available pairs, with the selling price marked at Rp 518,000 (US$37).
A similar number of Compass x Oldblue Co were to be released on Saturday, out of 300 pairs priced at Rp 698,000 a pair.
Compass, established by local entrepreneur Gunawan Kahar in 1998, grew in popularity early this year after a collaboration with influencer Brian Notodihardjo to create the Compass Bravo.
The limited sneakers, with only 100 pairs produced, were released during the annual Jakarta Sneaker Day at Senayan City mall, South Jakarta, in February, selling out after only one-and-a-half hours, kompas.com reported.
Weeks after the release, the shoes, sold initially for Rp 398,000, were found being sold online by second-party platforms for Rp 3 million. (mut)
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