Balenciaga's newest high-end sneakers look like they've walked the runway a few thousand times.
The luxury French fashion brand recently unveiled its ad campaign for the limited-edition Paris Sneaker, which is designed to look (fashionably) destroyed with scuffs, tears and markings for $1,850. A less-tattered option, with only a few rips, runs $625.
The price tags on the, um, lived-in looking shoes prompted backlash on social media, with singer-songwriter Neena Roe calling Balenciaga out for its "poverty-chic" design.
"They're selling these sneakers that look like they belonged to someone who could only afford one pair of shoes their entire adulthood for *625 DOLLARS,*" she continued. "Unchecked capitalism is mind-boggling."
"@BALENCIAGA just put out a new brand of 'distressed' shoes for sale- at $1850," wrote another user. "Their choice to put these shoes on sale at this price allows rich people to wear poverty as a costume and cosplay the experiences of the poor - those forced to wear shoes like this out of necessity."
According to the brand's website, the images of the shoes were taken by photographer Leopold Duchemin and "suggest that Paris Sneakers are meant to be worn for a lifetime."
Other fashionistas questioned why anyone would want such a distressed design in the first place, with one Twitter user adding, "Honestly why would anybody buy these new balenciaga shoes? Might as well do it yourself."
Another user agreed, joking, "Balenciaga tryna sell the shoes I threw out last week back to me for $1850."
Or, perhaps, it's all some kind of brand loyalty test? One user tweeted, "I'm sure Balenciaga and their shoes is a social experiment to see how far humans will go just to buy something for the brands name."
Still, another critic added, "How can I be wearing Balenciaga and still be looking like I just survived a zombie apocalypse in these shoes ???"