Balenciaga’s worn-out, expensive sneakers made the news, but also received a lot of criticism. In response, the Salvation Army Netherlands launched an original publicity stunt: its own collection of shoes, but then effectively worn by homeless people. The price tag is the same, only the proceeds go to charity.
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Balenciaga’s limited Paris collection caused quite a stir: the sneakers from the designer brand are extremely worn, but have price tags that will make you fall back. For the most worn-out variant, Limited Edition Paris High Top Sneaker Full Destroyed, you pay about 1,750 euros. Little respect for the less fortunate, who effectively walk around with such shoes, the internet judged. ‘This collection mocks the poor as well as the rich,’ someone summed it up nicely.
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Limited for a while
If people are willing to pay that much for broken shoes, why not raise money all at once? That’s what the Salvation Army, a non-profit organization that has been around for 135 years, must have thought. In response to Balenciaga, it has come up with a very striking campaign. In collaboration with ReShare (the second-hand platform of the Salvation Army, ed.) and creative agency Cloudfactory, they are now launching a collection of broken shoes themselves, which has been called Truly Destroyed.
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(Read more below the photo.)
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The difference? They owe their worn look to the fact that they were actually worn by Dutch homeless people. So these shoes are really destroyed, and even more ‘limited’ than the Balenciaga collection: there is of course only one of each pair. The website on which they are offered has, perhaps on purpose, a similar look to that of the Franse luxemerk† The price tag of the shoes is also not far off. You pay 1,450 euros for it, but all proceeds go to the Salvation Army, which helps people rebuild their lives after setbacks.
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Doesn’t keep your feet warm
Each pair was named after the homeless person she wore for months, if not years: Fleur’s Truly Destroyed Heels or Sam’s Truly Destroyed Winter Boots, for example. Each pair of shoes comes with a short description that reveals the harsh reality behind the worn pair, as a critique of Balenciaga. ‘Carried to exhaustion’, ‘does not support’ and ‘does not keep your feet warm’.
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(Read more below the photo.)
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The Dutch photographer Carli Hermès, who photographed the shoes of the homeless, has nothing against Balenciaga as a brand, he says. “They managed to attract attention. But if I can help the growing number of homeless people with a brilliant idea like this, I’m here to help. It would be great if consumers and people from the fashion industry were aware of this campaign. Even more: that they do something with it and spend less on clothes, shoes and their lives, and donate to the Salvation Army instead.
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Also read:
Extremely worn, extremely high price tag: the latest sneakers from Balenciaga
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