A trendy New York City-based department store is peddling shoes designed to look dirty and duct taped for $585 — but critics say it’s a fashion faux pas that glamorizes poverty.
Barneys New York, Nordstrom, and other stores are selling new “distressed” Golden Goose Superstar sneakers, which come complete with fake dirt stains, tattered laces and taped-up holes, the Daily Mail reports.
But someone should call the fashion police over the cruel-hearted kicks, which mock the poor, according to critics, who have taken to social media to blast the brand.
‘This is poverty appropriation. I’ve got a pair of Adidas Sambas that are in that state. The sole has a hole in them with cycling. Yours for £499,” the Scottish comedian Limmy slammed on Twitter.
Another user quipped, “Just need a hint of the smell of urine and you have yourself a deal. £trampchic”
Others called the homeless-chic shoes nothing but garbage.
“Golden Goose sneakers are trash…Rich jerks will spend whatever to appear down to Earth/ Working class,” wrote Twitter user Michael Grimm.
But some fashionistas stuck up for the shoes, claiming they “have meaning.”
“Do your research… Those ‘duct tape’ shoes will last longer than any Jordan. Golden Goose sneakers have meaning behind them,” one fashion buff Tweeted.
Barneys and Golden Goose didn’t return requests for comment.