[pagana]

You see someone you admire wear them, so you want them because they become a part of an aesthetic / community that you admire and want to associate with. Then from there you might get drawn in to rarer, more expensive versions to signal a higher standing in that community.

We all do it. We’ve all bought in to something because someone we admire has it / does it, without evaluating from first principles.

[brookst]

There are lots of things I trust expert judgment in more than my own. Michael Jordan for shoes would be a great example.

[CoastalCoder]

He's been very explicit that it's not the shoes :)

(Referring to some TV ads he used to appear in.)