Highsnobiety

Everybody's making a buck off Banksy these days, except perhaps the artist himself. Brandalised, one of the prime profiteering outlets, is especially good at making a mint off Banksy's work.

Brandalised's new collaboration with Japanese sneaker brand via SANGACIO epitomizes the state of affairs.

via SANGACIO prides itself as a truly handmade sneaker brand, with all footwear manufactured within the brand's own factory in Thailand by trained artisans, handstitching everything from the sole to the brand's lateral side "にゅ" branding.

Or so the story goes — via SANGACIO is Japan-only and I haven't handled the product myself. I'm sure it's fine and all but that's not important here.

Your Highsnobiety privacy settings have blocked this Instagram post.

More interesting is the saga of Brandalised.

Brandalised deems itself the "official" partner to "THE WORLDS [sic] MOST FAMOUS GRAFFITI," selling a wide variety of tchotchkes decorated with imagery sourced from various graffiti artists, including Banksy.

Of course, Banksy has nothing to do with Brandalised: Full Color Black, a Brandalised subsidiary, actually beat Banksy in copyright court over use of his graffiti'd illustrations.

Your Highsnobiety privacy settings have blocked this Instagram post.

"If [a company] ever says its [Banksy merch is] official, it's officially bullshit," one Redditor succinctly put it.

Still, thanks to Banksy's own copyright problems, Brandalised is free to utilize the artist's imagery for its own devices.

Retailing for ¥28,600 (about $230), via SANGACIO's Brandalised sneaker collab features a few recognizable bits of Banksy iconography, like monkey and rat prints.

Besides those, though, the shoes are barely recognizable as being Banksy adjacent, otherwise made of white leather and fitted with via SANGACIO's usual hiragana "にゅ" branding.

From unauthorized Banksy exhibits to figures made by Medicom Toy (the company that also manufactures KAWS' collectibles), there's plenty of unofficial Banksy stuff to be had.

Your Highsnobiety privacy settings have blocked this Twitter post.

Brandalised licenses faux Banksy graphics for the Medicom Toy stuff and things like greeting cards but doesn't operate any of the touring Banksy shows — for now.

Luckily, that means that the worst stuff we have to see is nothing more upsetting than these bland-ass sneakers.

We Recommend
  • HOKA's Tor Ultra Low sneaker in a green and white colorway
    HOKA's Best, Chunkiest Shoe Don't Need No Classic Colorways
    • Sneakers
  • Best Sneakers 2023
    The Most Important Shoes of 2023 Didn't Even All Debut in 2023
    • Sneakers
  • ROA sneakers
    Your Feet Will Thank You for These Winter-Ready Sneakers
    • Sneakers
  • Hoka FW23
    Just When You Thought HOKA Slip-Ons Had Peaked...
    • Sneakers
  • A photo of an all-black Merrell Agility Peak 5 GORE-TEX sneaker
    Merrell's Best Trail Runner Just Went Full HOKA
    • Sneakers
  • Image on Highsnobiety
What To Read Next
  • Image on Highsnobiety
    Salomon’s Turning Recovery Slides Into Mary Janes
    • Sneakers
  • white sneakers
    White Sneakers Are a Staple and These Are Our Favorites
    • Style
  • Nike air max wallet
    This Ain't an Air Max Sneaker. It's Nike's Newest Accessory
    • Sneakers
  • nike air max day 2024 releases
    Nike Air Max Day 2024: Everything Air Lovers Need to Know
    • Sneakers
  • Yayoi Kusama x Louis Vuitton
    In an Era of Collaboration Saturation, How Do Brands Stand Out?
    • Style
  • END. x HOKA sneaker collaboration 2024.
    Can Anyone Stop HOKA?
    • Sneakers
*If you submitted your e-mail address and placed an order, we may use your e-mail address to inform you regularly about similar products without prior explicit consent. You can object to the use of your e-mail address for this purpose at any time without incurring any costs other than the transmission costs according to the basic tariffs. Each newsletter contains an unsubscribe link. Alternatively, you can object to receiving the newsletter at any time by sending an e-mail to info@highsnobiety.com

Web Accessibility Statement

Titel Media GmbH (Highsnobiety), is committed to facilitating and improving the accessibility and usability of its Website, www.highsnobiety.com. Titel Media GmbH strives to ensure that its Website services and content are accessible to persons with disabilities including users of screen reader technology. To accomplish this, Titel Media GmbH tests, remediates and maintains the Website in-line with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG), which also bring the Website into conformance with the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990.

Disclaimer

Please be aware that our efforts to maintain accessibility and usability are ongoing. While we strive to make the Website as accessible as possible some issues can be encountered by different assistive technology as the range of assistive technology is wide and varied.

Contact Us

If, at any time, you have specific questions or concerns about the accessibility of any particular webpage on this Website, please contact us at accessibility@highsnobiety.com, +49 (0)30 235 908 500. If you do encounter an accessibility issue, please be sure to specify the web page and nature of the issue in your email and/or phone call, and we will make all reasonable efforts to make that page or the information contained therein accessible for you.