Balenciaga’s full destroyed sneakers get trolled by netizens, would you buy them for ₹48k?

Luxury fashion label Balenciaga is making headlines, and not for good reasons. They announced their latest distressed shoe collection, dubbed the ‘Paris Sneaker’, featuring 100 pairs of limited edition fully destroyed sneakers. It features high-top sneakers and mules and is available for pre-order online worldwide. And what’s more bizarre? The distressed sneakers are worth ₹48,279 (USD 625). The fashion house got trolled by netizens after releasing the new line. According to the internet, they look like they have been “excavated from an ancient site or a landfill”.

Balenciaga announced the collection with a note explaining the idea behind the sneakers. According to them, the new ‘extremely worn, marked up and dirtied’ sneakers are “a retooled classic design which interprets mid-century athleticism and timeless casual wear in black, white, or red, with a white rubber sole and toe. It is finished with distressed canvas and rough edges, affecting a pre-worn look.” The collection comes in lace-up style, either high-top or backless, and meant to be ‘worn for a lifetime’. Well, we are not so sure about that. (Also Read: Kim Kardashian slays SNL debut in hot pink catsuits and street-ready chic long coat by Balenciaga)

After Balenciaga’s unveil, fashion watchdog, Diet Prada, took to their Instagram page to troll the luxury fashion house and wrote, “These @balenciaga shoes smell like?”

Though the extremely destroyed version of the sneakers, seen in the post, is just for the campaign and not for sale, it still baffled netizens. One user wrote, “Rich people love to look poor but only for the aesthetic.” Another commented, “Anytime my grandma complain about my dirty a** shoes I tell her it’s fashion, now I confirm.”

See some of the comments:

Look at one of the sneakers available on the Balenciaga website, featuring a “fully destroyed sole, extremely ripped details on the fabric, and Balenciaga graffiti logo on the sole”. If the distressed and old look is your aesthetic, maybe these shoes are meant for you. But would you pay USD 625 ( ₹48,279) for them?

According to Balenciaga’s release, the Paris Sneaker will be available worldwide via their website. In European markets, it was made available on May 9. The United States and Middle East stores will have the collection on May 16 and Japan on May 23.