As a major facet of streetwear, skateboarding has proven to be a difficult culture to invoke for luxury brands. Virgil Abloh, a bonafide skater himself throughout his life, showed how to do it right with Louis Vuitton’s first signature shoe made for Lucien Clarke. It can get awkward, however, when people with little connection to skateboarding try to capitalize on skateboarding’s appeal. We’ve seen Coach brick the attempt in the past, and now it’s Fendi and Versace that are fully exposing themselves as posers.
Product images for the highly anticipated collaboration between the two luxury giants have surfaced this week, and the primary focus has been on a skate-influenced sneaker that fully misses the mark. It has a beefy silhouette that could accurately be described as a ripoff of the Dunk Low, only it's made tacky in an attempt at extravagance. Slightly dull gold leather makes up a double “F” motif where you’d typically expect to see a Swoosh, and even worse is Versace's signature baroque print that comprises the basis of the upper.
