The Balenciaga house knows how to make people talk about it.
This Monday, May 9, 2022, Balenciaga announced the launch of a rather surprising new line of sneakers, dubbed
Paris Sneakers
.
A capsule of aged canvas shoes available in several models with also several levels of wear.
The brand has chosen to communicate on a model not available for sale which panicked the Web as soon as it was released.
Yellowed or charred cotton, nicked canvas, blackened sole with a graffiti logo on the front… This is the decrepit-looking model that grabs attention.
Full screen
The new model from the Paris Sneakers
campaign
by Balenciaga.
Hurry
have to wear
The house has used this particularly well-worn pair to highlight three more wearable models, which will, in turn, be available for sale.
The first, priced at €1,450 called
Paris High Top Full Destroyed,
available in black and white, is the most worn version of this line.
Tears on the cotton canvas, worn soles and Balenciaga mention on the front of the sole... A destroyed look that nevertheless remains much more wearable than the images used for the campaign.
100 pairs of these are on sale for pre-order on the house's website.
Full screen
The Sneaker Paris High Top Full Destroyed available in a limited edition Press
Finally, two other models with relative wear complete this
Paris Sneakers line.
At the price of 495€, they can be found in a high-top or mule version.
A campaign that makes people react
To stage this new model and create this media buzz, photographer Léopold Duchemin was chosen by the brand.
In a video and also through a series of portraits, the decomposition of the
Paris Sneakers
is staged.
“The still lifes of photographer Léopold Duchemin suggest that
Paris Sneakers
are made to be worn for life,” explains the house.
A poetic metaphor of passing time, to those who will know how to see and understand it.
Bet won for the house: the reactions are lively and numerous on social networks, testifying to the misunderstanding that greeted the launch of this pair.
"Imagine buying the
Paris Sneakers
, and your mother throwing it away because it looks worn" highlighted a surfer on Instagram with humor.
Among the few supporters of this extraordinary concept from Balenciaga, we could read on social networks for example: “I love the idea.
I wore my shoes until they were completely destroyed when I was a teenager.
I understand where they are coming from and I am a complete fan”.
Worn and tired locker room
Balenciaga is far from the first house to have explored clothing wear in its collections.
This is particularly the case of the Haute Couture
Hobo
collection , V
agabond
, by John Galliano at Dior in 2000, which has remained in the annals for having deeply shocked public opinion.
But this “trend” is also illustrated in ready-to-wear: a pair of ripped tights, grass-stained jeans, both by Gucci, Converse and his (old) pair of Chuck Taylor sneakers in 2020.. Many brands are venturing into this controversial territory.
Always with so many reactions.
