It is no secret that in recent years, and with Demna Gvasalia as Balenciaga’s creative director, the French brand has come up with some unconventional reinterpretations of every day and more than common pieces of clothing.
Just remember that gigantic tote that is basically a mock-up of the ones humble merchants use in Thailand or the heeled crocs and most recently, a pair of uber distresses sneakers that have people talking.
The new “Paris Sneaker” collection takes a similar silhouette to the classic Converse Chuck Taylor and has been purposefully distressed, to say the least.
The pair of sneakers looks as if it was extremely used, dirtied, and with plenty of marks, one of them obviously the Balenciaga brand name.
“These still life portraits, by photographer Leopold Duchemin, suggest that Paris Sneakers are meant to be worn for a lifetime.” Reads the description of the sneakers on the label’s website.
The collection will be limited to 100 pairs of “these extra destroyed sneakers” and will be sold online for “only” $1,850… But that is not the problem, the real issue with this new collection is what it could mean for feature trends.
According to Manu, a fashion stylist and tiktoker, such a collection of extremely distressed styles brings back a 2000s trend called “homeless chic”, which basically applauds the “ridiculous opulence gave way to indulging in the luxury of dressing like a homeless person as a form of mockery”, he wrote on his Twitter account.
He also points out that this trend can bring back the idea of an extremely thin body to fit into low-waits jeans or skirts, just like the ones Miu Miu presented a few weeks ago.
In other words, fashion, and in this case luxury fashion is using minorities and disadvantaged people to get a profit. Moreover, it can revive the problem with body image and body consciousness that in the past few years more and more brands have tried to tackle by making their clothing inclusive to all sizes and types of bodies.
So, the Paris Sneakers might be hideous and can cause a good laugh and even question if that is really fashion and worth thousands of dollars, but the main point is to never lose sight that fashion is a reflection of society and it can tell a lot about the times we are living in and if we are willing to go back to those unreal beauty standards and using disadvantageous people.
