Balenciaga launches limited edition distressed 'Paris Sneakers'; price shocks netizens

Balenciaga's move of launching a limited edition of overly distressed sneakers has created quite a noise on social media. Dubbed 'Paris Sneakers', the silhouette has arrived in the high-top and mule iterations of the luxury brand. The new kicks are currently available for pre-order and each pair is accentuated with cut-out detailing and frayed edges on the collar. 

The limited-edition stock has arrived in three colours - red, white and black. With washed-out marks all over the midsole, the brand's logo appears at the bottom of the kicks. As explained in a press release, the Paris Sneaker is 'meant to be worn for a lifetime'. The extremely distressed shoes are set to be limited to 100 pairs in black and white. The new kicks are priced at a whopping range between $625 and $495 which is approximately around 50k to 1 lakh in Indian currency.

According to the brand, the new sneaker is “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 with distressed canvas and rough edges, affecting a pre-worn look.”

Netizens react to Balenciaga Paris Sneaker

After the launch of Balenciaga Paris Sneaker, a barrage of netizens took to Twitter to associate their funny anecdotes with the bizarre fashion trend. A user said, "Perfect. My beat up converse that went to 916146 festivals are back in style!," another claimed "Wow turns out i have balenciaga shoes at home then."

A section of the internet expressed their disappointment over the new limited edition kicks. One said, "They are over-experimenting with the consumers how much they want these just to wear something from their label. But bro…. they look like they’re coming straight from the trash can." Another couldn't believe Balenciago would come up with a 'stupid' experiment. The user explained, "Fashion is deadly, can’t believe how such an important name as Balenciaga is doing this stuff. Society is next to stupid nowadays."

A netizen also called out the brand for defaming the millions who wear destroyed shoes because they can't afford new ones. The user called the new kicks 'Gross' and added "A pathetic attempt to ride on sustainability/reduce/reuse with a product’s more than half of its life cycle eliminated already. A spit on the face of millions of people who wear their shoes destroyed because they can’t afford new ones, let alone Balenciaga ones, at 1450€ for the “extra destroyed limited edition” and 495€ for the slightly worn out second version. Gross." Take a look at the reactions below:

Image: Twitter/@jale691