Would You Pay $2,300 for a Designer Skirt That Looks Like a Car Mat?

Have you ever found yourself looking at the floor of your car and thinking ‘damn, this rubber mat would make an excellent skirt’? No? Well someone at luxury fashion brand Balenciaga definitely did, and not only did they make the car mat skirt a reality, but they made sure it was appropriately priced – $2,300.

While it might look like the brilliant minds at Balenciaga simply took a run-of-the-mill car mat and stitched it into a dress, they actually put a little more work into it. The controversial clothing item is actually 50% lambskin, instead of plain rubber, although it does have neoprene backing for a “utilitarian aesthetic.” But apart from leather replacing rubber – at least for the most part – the skirt actually looks just like a coiled car mat. So much so that British homeware retailer Argos recently stated that it was inspired by one of the car mats they sell.

“It’s fabulous to see such a well-respected fashion brand taking inspiration from the everyday car mat and we’re flattered that the skirt bears a close resemblance to our Cosmos Duro All Weather Car Mat,” an Argos spokesperson said. Yes, simply fabulous, indeed, although, judging by the reactions that Balenciaga car mat skirt has been getting on social media, I’m not sure associating its name with it was a very smart move by Argos.

“Are Balenciaga really just gonna put their logo on a Car Mat and sell it as a skirt,” one Twitter user wrote.

“Balenciaga are selling a car mat posing as a skirt for $1450(ksh 145,000). I’m CRYYYYIINGG,” another posted. Yeah, you wish, buddy, it’s actually $2,300. This is a LUXURY fashion brand after all.

Some people have just been putting up photos of regular car mats next to the dress, with the caption “4 car floor mats: $20, Balenciaga 1 floor mat: $2000”.

Believe it or not, this Balenciaga’s second controversial item in the last couple of months, following a $2,145 bag that looks just like the ones sold by IKEA for just 99 cents. But to be fair, it’s not just this fashion brand that’s acting strange these days. This year, we’ve covered pre-muddied jeans sold by Nordstrom, and see-through plastic jeans from Top Shop. Who knows what the future holds…