# Balenciaga Paris destroyed sneaker campaign

> Destroyed sneaker images reached a Weibo hashtag with 390 million reported views.

- Owner: Balenciaga
- Kind: Campaign
- Sector: Fashion & accessories
- Seed date: 2022-05-09
- Peak date: Week of May 9, 2022
- Date basis: Dates use the stated precision; chart positions are date anchors.
- Spread Score: 44 (Notable), v1.2
- Mechanics: Controversy, Transgression, Scarcity drop, Platform jump, Press loop

## Summary

Balenciaga seeded destroyed-shoe portraits to selected media and tastemakers. Ridicule and poverty criticism met a keep-forever defense. A Dutch Salvation Army derivative copied the storefront, using genuinely worn shoes and product copy to invite donations.

## Timeline

- 2022-05-09 — Balenciaga (Open web) — Sent the destroyed portraits to selected media and tastemakers; BoF later reported that the brand largely stayed quiet.
- 2022-05-09 — @julia_lourenco (X) — Julha shared the sneaker pictures and invited readers to think what they wanted.
- 2022-05-09 — Carla Lemos / Seth Fowler / Joe Pompliano (X) — Carla Lemos mocked the launch; Fowler and Pompliano called it trolling.

The full timeline, metrics and sources are on the case page, or via the Pro API (https://howitspread.com/developers).

Canonical URL: https://howitspread.com/cases/balenciaga-paris-destroyed-sneaker-campaign

Cite as: How It Spread (2026). “Balenciaga Paris destroyed sneaker campaign.” Case HIS-00537. Spread Score v1.2: 44/100. Updated 2026-10-14. https://howitspread.com/id/HIS-00537