Ad of the Day: Dutch Salvation Army parodies Balenciaga 'destroyed shoes' collection
The Dutch Salvation Army has unveiled a new line of limited-edition shoes worn by homeless people on a newly launched website trulydestroyed.com. It parodies the latest collection from Balenciaga which features 'destroyed' gear and will raise money for charity.
Cloudfactory and The Dutch Salvation Army ReShare – inspired by Balenciaga – create a collection of truly destroyed shoes from p
The range takes on the luxury fashion house Balenciaga which recently launched its Paris Sneaker collection featuring 100 pairs of limited-edition 'destroyed’ sneakers that cost $1,850.
Shot by fashion photographer Carli Hermès, the shoes have unique descriptions like John’s truly destroyed all-purpose shoe and product details like freezing winter has worn out effect, not waterproof, detached sole, various holes for warm weather, and painful fit.
The campaign was conceptualized by Amsterdam-based creative agency Cloudfactory and the funds raised will go directly to The Dutch Salvation Army's mission to help people in need rebuild their lives.
Thamar Keuning, marketing & communications head at The Salvation Army ReShare, Leger des Heils ReShare in The Netherlands said: "Of course, 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. 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.
"It is a good thing that the conversation is shifted in this way from a fashion stunt and fuss to a real social problem, such as the large number of homeless people in the Netherlands: at the moment, there are 32,000! We have been advocating for years for housing homeless people and the prevention of homelessness. It is nice to see that through actions like this, the subject is finally getting the international attention it deserves."
Carli Hermès said: "I’m not against Balenciaga’s destroyed sneakers at all. They did a great job grabbing everyone’s attention.
"But when I can help the homeless – the number seems to be rising again – with such a wonderful idea, I’m in. I like the story behind it. For me this is not only about photography, but also about art direction. The idea is strong and therefore I could develop the idea further in photography."
Cloudfactory's creative director Julio Álvarez, added: "We have a lot of respect for Demna Gvasalia’s vision, the creative director of Balenciaga, and what he is doing with the Balenciaga brand – they often tap brilliantly into (pop) culture. We understand the fashion world has its codes, and we are not here to judge them.
"It gives us a nice springboard to bring a tougher reality to the news."