Balenciaga selling ‘dirty’ outfit covered in holes for $5K
The bigger the hole, the bigger the dough?
Balenciaga is selling “dirty” outfits covered in holes — for over $5,000.
The fashion house’s summer 2023 collection has hit stores and features an “oversize jacket” and “super destroyed baggy trousers” with multiple pockets priced at nearly $3,000 and $2,300, respectively.
The front of both pieces has large brown stains, while the back has excessive holes, which some customers may consider a bonus for the breezy back door.
The garments, sold brand-new, are designed to look worn and grimy, with the clothing description reading: “Heavily destroyed and dirty effect.”
Although the outfit may seem like it will never hit the spin cycle in a washing machine, the unisex clothes are ironically “dry cleaning” only.
Balenciaga first showed the earthy collection during its Mud Show during October’s Paris fashion week, where Kanye West opened the event wearing a tactical jacket and trekking through heaps of mud.
The show instantly became a meme online after models ditched their traditional catwalk struts and instead leaned forward and pushed their way through the sludge.
The brand has become known for taking high fashion risks, with outrageous styles like fisherman-style wader boots, laser beam-destroyed hats, trash bag purses and now filthy chic outfits.
However, the brand took the risqué approach too far last year. Balenciaga released heavily panned ads that featured children holding stuffed animals in bondage pieces.
The children modeled the brand’s clothes and sneakers while holding a purse designed to look like a plush bear wearing a padlocked choker and fishnet top.
Balenciaga received worldwide backlash for the sexualized campaign, pulling the ads and addressing the controversy in an Instagram post.
“We strongly condemn child abuse; it was never our intent to include it in the narrative,” Balenciaga wrote in the statement. “Our plush bear bags and the gift collection should have not been featured with children. The responsibility for this lies with Balenciaga alone.”
Balenciaga’s creative director Demna posted a statement on Instagram as well: “I want to personally apologize for the wrong artistic choice of concept for the gifting campaign with the kids and I take my responsibility. It was inappropriate to have kids promote objects that had nothing to do with them.”
The fashion house, which isn’t afraid to get down in the mud, reportedly plans to hire a crisis management expert to clean up all the muck they created from the disturbing campaign.
