There's nothing fashionable about mocking homelessness.
Critics say the result is an insensitive glamorisation of poverty.
The shabby sneaks are selling at Nordstrom for $530, boasting “crumply, hold-it-all-together tape” and a “grungy rubber cupsole”.
There are people in the world wearing plastic bags as shoes because they can’t afford any, but these HIDEOUS things are selling for $500 the fashion industry is truly so [f — king] stupid it pisses me off like what the actual hell ??????!” one Twitter user fumed, garnering almost 50,000 likes.
Nothing truly says you are a worthless [person] than spending [lavishly] on shoes that mock poverty, writes another critic.
I don’t get it, another user declares.
Golden Goose, meanwhile, apparently doesn’t get the outrage.
The brand set off a similar footwear flap in 2016 with its dirtied-up Distressed Superstar kicks.
At the time, company reps claimed the beat-up look was an homage to West Coast skateboarding culture, not an appropriation of poverty.