Were you able to spot the difference?  

Before we start here's a little history lesson. Back in 2009 Louis Vuitton collaborated with Kanye West and created three sneakers: Dons, Hudsons, and Jaspers in various colorways. Of those three sneakers, you're looking at the Louis Vuitton Patchwork Jaspers. They're named the patchworks because they feature a mix of colors and also feature 24k gold tassels which are exclusive to the patchwork style.

Now that you know what you're looking at, what differences were you able to notice? These are some additional photos along with explanations regarding the differences. 

The two main notable differences between these two Jaspers is the leather texture, and toe box size. 

Leather texture: The sneaker on the right features a tumbled leather and the sneaker on the left features smoother leather with almost no texture. 

Toe box size: The toe box on the right is smaller proportionatly than the shoe on the right, this is primarily because the suede that lines the toebox is smaller than the one the right. 

The leather texture differences between the two LV jaspers is also depicted in the photo above. 

The most notable difference between the two sneakers is the strap with regards to the lining and the velcro patch. 

Lining: The lining of the bottom sneaker is stitched in between while the lining of the sneaker on top has no stitches. 

Velcro patch: The velcro patch of the bottom sneakers is larger and less defined in comparison to the sneakers on the top. 

Lastly, the most notable difference between the two sneakers is the style code.

Style code: The left sneaker only features the size 9 stamp while the sneaker on the right features a style code along with the size stamp.  

Now that the differences are more apparent can you guess why?

Turns out that one pair is a sample, while the other is the production pair made available to the public.

So going back to this photo which one is the sample? 

The bottom is the sample while the top is the production pair. 

What about these make them samples?  

In general samples are distinguished by looking at the following: style code stamp, leather/material types, and colorways. 

Style code stamp: Most samples have no style code stamp, or have just a size size stamp without the style code. Additionally, most samples are Louis Vuitton size 9 (rarely any exceptions).

Leather/ material types: When comparing to a production pair, samples tend to have variations in leather type. For example, the production pair of Patchwork Jaspers we viewed earlier featured a tumbled leather while the sample pair featured a smooth leather. Also some sample pairs can feature different material, for example a production pair can feature patent leather while the sample features suede. 

Colorways: Some samples feature unreleased colorways in comparison to the set production colorways. 

If you're considering buying any Louis Vuitton Kanye West sneakers we recommend using our authentication service to ensure you're buying an authentic product.