Bids for 200 pairs of Nike/Louis Vuitton Air Force 1 sneakers designed by Virgil Abloh are running well beyond Sotheby’s initial estimates at an auction with a week to go.

The sale, which the Louis Vuitton creative designer helped to plan before his death from cancer at the age of 41 in November, will benefit The Virgil Abloh “Post-Modern” Scholarship Fund for black, African-American and students of African descent in the fashion industry.

“We’re currently at about $6.1m in hammer price,” said Sotheby’s head of streetwear and modern collectibles, Brahm Wachter, on Tuesday, when bids ran as high as $80,000...