Salvation Army Responds to Balenciaga’s Destroyed Sneakers with ‘Truly Destroyed’ Campaign to Raise Awareness on Poverty and Inequality

Balenciaga‘s attempt at a high fashion resulted in more controversy.

The beat-up “full-destroyed” Paris Sneaker that went viral earlier this month caught the eye of the Dutch Salvation Army which responded with its “Truly Destroyed” campaign that features shoes that have actually been worn for months (in some cases years) by people living on the streets.

Balenciaga’s limit-edition full-distroyed Paris sneakers, priced at $1,850 hit a little too close to home for those that actually know what it’s like to wear worn-out shoes.

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“The fashion world is all about how clothes and shoes look. The creativity and variety that comes with it can be wonderful, as is high fashion, or Balenciaga for that matter,” said Thamar Keuning, marketing and communications officer at the Salvation Army.

“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.”

“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.”

Only 100 pairs of the limit-edition full-distroyed Paris sneakers went up for sale.

This isn’t the first time the high-class brand has been caught in controversy.

In 2021, Balenciaga was accused of culture appropriating sweat pants with plaid boxers hanging out. Black History experts deemed the joggers racist.