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An unusually high number of people gathered on the sidewalk outside the sports boutique on Kiriazi Street in the luxurious Athens suburb of Kifissia on the last day of 2015, reports the Greek online edition protothema.gr. From eight o’clock in the morning there was more than the usual bustle in the place, with some still sleepy customers, just emerging from the sleeping bags, in which they had spent the night on the sidewalk. Many of the enthusiasts had arrived from Greece's neighbouring countries in the Balkans. "We have travelled hundreds of miles to materialize our dream and have a pair of Adidas Yeezy Boost 350 sneakers," a young man from Bulgaria told the edition.

Designer of the shoes is rapper Kanye West, also known as the husband of Kim Karadashian. According to fashion experts, they are the sports shoes of the year.

In a short while, the entire area around the shop was filled with young people determined to buy one of the limited number of pairs of sneakers by the famous company. "I arrived a few days before the scheduled day of the sale because I could not find these sneakers in my country," a youth from Serbia states for thema people. He spent two days on the sidewalk in front of the boutique with the sole aim of becoming the proud owner of one of the 30 pairs of sports shoes that have recently become famous.

"I could walk miles on foot, stay in the desert without water, be trampled on and pay as much as I have to just to buy them," he adds.

The high cost of the shoes, 200 euro, failed to reduce the enthusiasm of their fans. "I sent the family driver to wait all night and in the morning, I came to line up in the place that he had reserved in the queue," says the son of a Greek business family. "I could not buy them in the US. They were sold out immediately after being delivered, so I waited for them to be delivered here," he says while proudly looking at his new precious acquisition.

Despite the crowd, the young people awaited their turn calmly. The boutique that managed to obtain the exclusive right to sell the specific model of sneakers opened at exactly 08:00 am but the 30 pairs to which it was entitled were delivered an hour later.

"As we follow the global trends we are aware that these are not just sports shoes but a fashion item that has turned into a global fashion trend, causing such frenzy. We fought to win the rights to sell the sneakers in Athens and with much effort we succeeded," states shop owner Rania Liakotiti.

She even treated her customers with coffee and croissants in anticipation of the cherished item.