Converse sells Chuck Taylors purposely made to look dirty for £70

Retailer states that a ‘dirty wash treatment’ gives the trainers ‘a vintage look’

Chuck Taylor All Star Basic Wash, £70 (Converse)

It is not unreasonable to expect a pair of new shoes to look, well, new when you buy them. The fresh-out-of-the-box appeal is usually the reason people opt for new and not second-hand shoes when they do so – despite the latter being a more eco-conscious way to shop.

So it comes as quite a surprise that Converse seems to have overlooked this basic tenet of shopping, by releasing a pair of trainers designed purposefully to appear dirty.

We're not even talking slightly scuffed. If you were to take a quick glance at the trainers in question, you would not guess that they are a brand new pair of shoes, with grubby marks on the rubber and the grey colour of the canvas.

But lo and behold, they are – and they cost £70.

The trainers, which are called the “Chuck Taylor All Star Basic Wash”, are low-top and come in two colours: either navy and white or grey and white.

In the description for the product on the Converse website, it states that customers can “skip the break-in period” with these shoes, saying they have been given “an aged makeover”.

“A dirty wash treatment gives these classic Chucks a vintage look, straight out of the box,” it says.

Several Twitter users expressed their incredulity over the trainers, with one person questioning: “This... This isn’t a parody?!”

Chuck Taylor All Star Basic Wash, £70 (Converse)

Another person stated: “Could get them for a fiver in charity shops looking better than that.”

Converse is not the only retailer to have offered trainers intentionally made to look dirty for a hefty price.

In March last year, Gucci sparked criticism for selling a pair of shoes purposely made to look dirty for £615, with critics accusing the fashion house of “commercialising poverty”.

Meanwhile in September 2018, Italian designer shoe brand Golden Goose was condemned on social media for selling a pair of shoes for £400 that looked battered, featuring duct tape over the toes.