Luxury fashion house Balenciaga has unveiled a new campaign promoting a series of roughed up sneakers with an eye-watering price tag, and the internet has thoughts.

The images, shot by photographer Leopold Duchemin for the brand, of severely tattered, distressed shoes have gone viral following Monday's launch of the couture brand's new Paris sneaker, with outrage at the appearance of the high tops swirling online.

But the photos of the destroyed sneakers circulating on social media don't exactly tell the whole story. While they have courted the most controversy, the images are actually of exaggerated, limited edition versions of the sneakers that Balenciaga is selling.

Balenciaga has unveiled its latest sneaker... Thoughts? 😂

📷: https://t.co/UI6RwU4Vcs pic.twitter.com/lcVkq1nlvL

— The Sole Supplier (@thesolesupplier) May 10, 2022