Salvation Army has hijacked the launch of the controversial launch of Balenciaga’s Paris sneaker, with its own ‘truly destroyed’ campaign.
If you are like me you are still flabbergasted by the launch of the latest and very controversial Balenciaga Paris sneaker, an intentionally tattered and torn high-top.
But it triggered a reaction from the Salvation Army, and that is actually a beautiful thing. The international charity launched its own ‘Truly Destroyed’ campaign, together with a website and fundraising initiative that spotlights sneakers – and shoes – that once belonged to homeless people. And all these shoes look uncomfortably similar to Balenciaga’s $1,850 sneakers!
The campaign mimicks Balenciaga’s website and imagery to invite viewers to “discover the collection.” The dirty, yellowing shoes are priced at €1,450 each and offer product descriptions including details such as “painful fit,” “detached sole,” or even “blood residue.”
The shoes are not for sale per say, but the website prompts visitors to donate to Salvation Army, which helps provide food, housing, and financial assistance to those living in poverty.
“The fashion world is all about how clothes and shoes look,” said Thamar Keuning, marketing and communications officer at Salvation Army ReShare. “The creativity and variety that comes with it can be wonderful, as is high fashion, or Balenciaga for that matter.
“However, it is also sometimes at odds with what clothing means to most of the people we deal with, and that is purely functional. The destroyed shoes of a homeless person opposite the high-fashion products of this fashion industry literally and symbolically reflect the inequality in the world.”
Related Story | Virgil Abloh’s Louis Vuitton X Nike Air Force 1 Is Finally Releasing
Creative directors Julio Álvarez and César García clarified that Truly Destroyed isn’t intended as an attack on Balenciaga, nor on creative director Demna Gvasalia.
“We have a lot of respect for Gvasalia’s vision… We understand the fashion world has its codes, and we are not here to judge them,” Álvarez said.
“If anything, we’re thankful they decided to come up with the limited-edition sneakers described as ‘totally destroyed,’ because that’s what sparked our idea: selling used sneakers worn by people living in the streets. Not treated to look destroyed, but truly destroyed, due to their tough life conditions.”
You might also like
More from Featured
TikTok Now Lets You Reset Your ‘For You’ Page
Last week TikTok announced a new feature that lets users reset their 'For You' Feed and its content recommendations.
Unleashing the Purr-fect Art: Meet The AI Artist Who Transforms Famous Characters Into Adorable Cat Portraits
It's just purr-fect. AI Dreams has published a series of cat portraits representing famous pop-culture characters with the help of …
Instagram Is Testing A ‘Top 3’ Sticker To Boost Engagement
According to reports, Instagram is testing a new Top 3 sticker for Stories, allowing users to highlight favorite accounts, places, …
TikTok Keyword Insights: Find The Right Keywords For Your Ads
TikTok unveiled a new "Keyword Insights" tool to help marketers find the keywords and phrases that resonate with audiences in …
IKEA Creates Unlivable In-Store Room Sets To Raise Awareness About Homelessness
Forget the usual dream kitchens and living spaces, IKEA’s ‘Real Life Roomsets’ show off the reality of life in temporary …
I’m Obsessed With This New Donut-Shaped Lamp From IKEA
If you are looking for something new to change your interior, look no further than the VARMBLIXT, the new glass …
Twitter Blue Expands To 20+ European Countries
Twitter Blue is now expanding to more than 20 new countries in Europe, making the subscription service available in a …
Do LinkedIn Pods Work? Performance Insights And Key Learnings
In this month’s social media experiment, we set out to find out what LinkedIn pods are and whether they actually …