IT TOOK 80c AND A FEW TEA BAGS TO COPY THEM
WHEN approached by the Mail, a Balenciaga representative wouldn’t divulge how their tatty trainers are made – or indeed whether they’re recycling old shoes, or destroying a new pair to get the finished look.
But underneath all that dirt, the shoes – made from cotton and rubber – don’t look dissimilar to a pair of my Converse high-tops. So how hard could it be to turn my €59.99 trainers into a pair of designer-distressed ones?
My first challenge: how to turn the pristine white canvas that scuzzy, muddy colour. I discover tea bags give the perfect hue. I daub the bags all over the canvas and it instantly looks vintage. Next, I use scissors and a carving knife to snip off the branded discs and get to work on the sides, tops and laces with a cheese grater. Once suitably frayed, I dunk them in more tea-bag water.
I use scissors to make haphazard holes all over the canvas, then rip each tear apart with my hands.
The rubber sole proves a real problem; my Converses are looking too shiny. There’s nothing for it but a stomp in the mud in the fields.
For the graffiti logo on the base, I use a permanent black marker, a toothbrush and an eyeshadow palette to give that smudged, edgy finish.
But there’s still something missing. The Balenciaga shoes are peppered with burn marks. I carefully singe parts of the canvas with some matches.
It has taken five hours but, with the help of some everyday objects costing no more than 80cent, I’ve managed to make designer dupes that would fool even the most ardent follower of
fashion. However these trashy trainers will be walking in one direction only: all the way to the dump.