Fendi Bender: Fendace Skate Shoes Are a Miss
Two facts: Fendi x Versace is called "The Swap" and when luxury brands take on skate sneakers the results are divisive at best, critically panned at worst.
The Fendace skate shoes are part of the Fendi x Versace collection that Highsnobiety revealed on March 15 and they're not even the loudest thing in the collection.
I mean, this is partially a Versace affair, after all, so no surprise that things get flashy (check out the glistening gold "FENDACE" slide sandals!).
But it's the chunky skate-inspired sneakers that're drawing the most ire on social media.
These Fendi x Versace kicks aren't even a new design: they're just the Fendi Match shoe from late 2021 but with Versace's signature baroque print.
But, social media being what it is, people came prepared with ample comparisons.
"They really said ASICS Gel-Lyte 🤝 Nike Dunk," one commentor offered. More: "One word: Etnies," "These look like Globe skate shoes from early 00’s," and "What in the DC shoe is goin on!"
On another of Highsnobiety's Instagram posts about the shoes, folks felt similarly.
Comments include "I swear these designers just bought old CCS mags n used them as a starting point," Is it a Powerphase? Or the Workut Plus," and, simply, "DC Manteca."
True, the shoes resemble some old skate shoes, Reeboks, ASICS, the works.
Considering that the ordinary Fendi Match sneakers weigh in at an imposing $930, it's hard to imagine the Fendace kicks being much cheaper.
Still, we apparently live in a golden age for these things.
Everyone from Louis Vuitton to Dior to Lanvin has their own beefy lace-up sneaker indebted to the skate shoes of yore.
Even A$AP Rocky's Under Armour shoe was basically an Osiris riff.
But, then again, they must sell pretty well if all these different brands are tackling them. Let's see if the Fendace Match shoes stick around when they drop later this season.
