The “ugly shoe” trend is being taken to a whole new level. Gucci is now selling sneakers that are made to look dirty and worn — something the fashion house describes as an “allover distressed effect” — for hundreds of dollars.
A men’s version of these “distressed” sneakers is going for $870 and a women’s version is available for $790.
While it seems a bit ridiculous to purchase a pair of worn-looking sneakers for that much money, the good news is you don’t have to chuck your old sneakers, after all. Because apparently, they’re in style now.
The men’s version looks like a classic striped trainer that’s a little, well, rough around the edges:
And the women’s version looks like the pair your dad wore for a little too long before replacing them back in the day:
As you might imagine, the internet had quite a lot to say about these faux dirty sneakers. Many people took to Twitter to express their opinions and confusion.
“I really don’t get these Gucci dirty sneaker trend,” Twitter user @thesamiiryan wrote:
I really don’t get these Gucci dirty sneaker trend
— Samii Ryan (@thesamiiryan) January 11, 2018
Meanwhile, Twitter user @Ericaneverland really wants to know “who is paying for that,” and understandably so:
Gucci is literally selling a sneaker for $800 that looks like it’s dirty…. I wanna know who is paying for that
— Erica (@Ericaneverland) February 5, 2019
Twitter user @BibaGirrrl wondered what might come next. “Imaginary sneakers?”
When Anti-Fashion meets Commerce: Gucci is selling dirty-looking sneakers for $870!👟
Next thing they’ll be selling Gucci “imaginary sneakers” & getting fools to buy them-… https://t.co/vWSgHRaxag— BibaGirrrl Beauty (@BibaGirrrl) February 13, 2019
Twitter user @Cleatscleavage described the sneakers as having a “dad at a Sunday BBQ” look, which seems accurate:
Wow 800 bucks for dirty ass looking new balance “dad at Sunday BBQ” sneakers #wtf #gucci pic.twitter.com/mef9q5I3Bb
— Ava Fiore (@Cleatscleavage) April 11, 2018
And Twitter user @DougDelonyKHOU says you’d have to be “stupid rich” to purchase sneakers like these:
Gucci is selling dirty sneakers with scuff marks for nearly $900 .. excuse me while I go look up STUPID RICH in the dictionary. https://t.co/blt7des8iz #HTownRush #KHOU11 pic.twitter.com/aMs2j6gDbK
— Doug Delony (@DougDelonyKHOU) February 13, 2019
All in all, it doesn’t seem like there are tons of folks who are willing to drop this kind of cash on dirty-looking sneakers, but that certainly doesn’t mean the dirty sneaker trend won’t catch on.
In fact, Twitter user @chromegens pointed out that some people are already rocking this look:
https://twitter.com/chromegens/status/1032017473372086274
We’ve all got that one pair of sneakers we just can’t bear to throw out, so maybe the dirty shoe trend isn’t all bad — if you were looking for the perfect excuse to wear those sneakers out in public again.
This isn’t the first time a seemingly ridiculous product has gone on sale from a designer brand, however, and it likely won’t be the last.
Remember when the Ben Taverniti Unravel Project released $405 crotch-less, leg-less jeans that were meant to be styled similarly to a belt?
Now, yet another interesting fashion moment is upon us if dirty shoes are socially appropriate!