Why are celebrities paying lakhs for 'dirty' sneakers? The luxury shoe trend Bollywood and cricketers swear by
ETimes | June 20, 2026 11:39 PM CST
Sneaker culture in India has totally flipped over the last few years. It used to be all about who had the loudest, most recognizable logos plastered across their chest and feet. Well, not anymore. Today, if you peek into the closets of our biggest celebrities, you'll find a massive, fascinating divide. Half their collection is dedicated to "quiet luxury"—stuff that looks incredibly basic to the untrained eye but costs an absolute bomb. The other half? Exorbitant, headline-grabbing hype pieces that you practically need a lottery ticket to buy. Let’s dive into five of the craziest, most iconic sneakers currently sitting in the wardrobes of India's elite.
Ranbir Kapoor’s Double Life: Dior and... Plain White?
Ranbir's shoe game is literally a study in extremes. On one hand, the guy flexes the holy grail of modern streetwear: the Dior x Air Jordan 1 Highs. Dropped back in 2020 in notoriously limited quantities, these bad boys will set you back around ₹16 Lakhs on the resale market today. Yeah, you read that right. But catch him on a normal day running errands, and he's probably wearing his Common Projects Achilles Low. They just look like plain white sneakers. No flashy stripes, no massive branding. Just premium Italian leather and a tiny, subtle gold serial number stamped on the heel. It’s the ultimate "if you know, you know" shoe.
Virat Kohli: Keeping it Exclusive (and Practical)
You’d expect the king of Indian cricket to have a killer sneaker lineup, and he definitely doesn't disappoint. The absolute crown jewel he owns is the PUMA x One8 Collectors Edition 19.1. Co-created by Virat himself right before the 2019 ICC World Cup, they only ever made 150 pairs of these globally. With its crisp white leather base and gold-tipped spikes, it’s less of a shoe and more of a museum piece. But here's a fun twist. While he owns some of the rarest shoes on the planet, Virat was actually spotted rocking unbranded, mass-market Decathlon shoes during the Vijay Hazare Trophy. It just proves that for top-tier athletes, sometimes pure, unadulterated functionality beats luxury branding any day of the week.
Shah Rukh Khan’s ₹38,000 ‘Dirty’ Shoes
Leave it to King Khan to make scuffed shoes look like high fashion. If you follow SRK's off-duty looks, you’ve probably noticed he loves his Golden Goose Superstars. To anyone else, they look like they’ve been dragged through the mud. But that distressed, beaten-up look is done entirely by hand in Italy right out of the box. Priced at roughly ₹38,000, they are all about that effortless, lived-in vibe. Why spend hours keeping your sneakers pristine when you can buy them perfectly pre-scuffed?
Ranveer Singh: Straight Outta Space
Nobody does avant-garde quite like Ranveer, so it makes total sense that his sneakers look like alien artifacts. Case in point: the Adidas Yeezy Foam Runners. Crafted from a wild mix of harvested algae and EVA foam, this slip-on completely ditches traditional leather-and-lace construction. Reselling for around the ₹1 Lakh mark, it’s loud, it’s weird, and it’s unapologetically Ranveer. You either love it or hate it, but you definitely can't ignore it.
Abhishek Bachchan: The Low-Key Sneakerhead
Abhishek Bachchan is one of those serious collectors who usually snags rare drops way before they hit the mainstream timeline. One of his heaviest hitters is the Adidas Yeezy 700 V3 in the ‘Azael’ colorway. Moving away from the standard suede and mesh, this chunky futuristic beast features a crazy glow-in-the-dark cage over the upper. With a price tag hovering around ₹2 Lakhs, it’s a massive favorite in the global streetwear community, proving Junior Bachchan really knows his stuff.
The Bottom Line
So, what does this tell us? The Indian premium buyer has evolved. It’s no longer just about picking the most expensive item off a shelf. It’s about the story, the exclusivity, and sometimes, just the sheer absurdity of the design. Next time you see these stars getting papped at the airport, don't just look at their sunglasses—look down. The real story is almost always in the soles.
Ranbir Kapoor’s Double Life: Dior and... Plain White?
Ranbir's shoe game is literally a study in extremes. On one hand, the guy flexes the holy grail of modern streetwear: the Dior x Air Jordan 1 Highs. Dropped back in 2020 in notoriously limited quantities, these bad boys will set you back around ₹16 Lakhs on the resale market today. Yeah, you read that right. But catch him on a normal day running errands, and he's probably wearing his Common Projects Achilles Low. They just look like plain white sneakers. No flashy stripes, no massive branding. Just premium Italian leather and a tiny, subtle gold serial number stamped on the heel. It’s the ultimate "if you know, you know" shoe.
Virat Kohli: Keeping it Exclusive (and Practical)
You’d expect the king of Indian cricket to have a killer sneaker lineup, and he definitely doesn't disappoint. The absolute crown jewel he owns is the PUMA x One8 Collectors Edition 19.1. Co-created by Virat himself right before the 2019 ICC World Cup, they only ever made 150 pairs of these globally. With its crisp white leather base and gold-tipped spikes, it’s less of a shoe and more of a museum piece. But here's a fun twist. While he owns some of the rarest shoes on the planet, Virat was actually spotted rocking unbranded, mass-market Decathlon shoes during the Vijay Hazare Trophy. It just proves that for top-tier athletes, sometimes pure, unadulterated functionality beats luxury branding any day of the week.
Shah Rukh Khan’s ₹38,000 ‘Dirty’ Shoes
Leave it to King Khan to make scuffed shoes look like high fashion. If you follow SRK's off-duty looks, you’ve probably noticed he loves his Golden Goose Superstars. To anyone else, they look like they’ve been dragged through the mud. But that distressed, beaten-up look is done entirely by hand in Italy right out of the box. Priced at roughly ₹38,000, they are all about that effortless, lived-in vibe. Why spend hours keeping your sneakers pristine when you can buy them perfectly pre-scuffed?
Ranveer Singh: Straight Outta Space
Nobody does avant-garde quite like Ranveer, so it makes total sense that his sneakers look like alien artifacts. Case in point: the Adidas Yeezy Foam Runners. Crafted from a wild mix of harvested algae and EVA foam, this slip-on completely ditches traditional leather-and-lace construction. Reselling for around the ₹1 Lakh mark, it’s loud, it’s weird, and it’s unapologetically Ranveer. You either love it or hate it, but you definitely can't ignore it.
Abhishek Bachchan: The Low-Key Sneakerhead
Abhishek Bachchan is one of those serious collectors who usually snags rare drops way before they hit the mainstream timeline. One of his heaviest hitters is the Adidas Yeezy 700 V3 in the ‘Azael’ colorway. Moving away from the standard suede and mesh, this chunky futuristic beast features a crazy glow-in-the-dark cage over the upper. With a price tag hovering around ₹2 Lakhs, it’s a massive favorite in the global streetwear community, proving Junior Bachchan really knows his stuff.
The Bottom Line
So, what does this tell us? The Indian premium buyer has evolved. It’s no longer just about picking the most expensive item off a shelf. It’s about the story, the exclusivity, and sometimes, just the sheer absurdity of the design. Next time you see these stars getting papped at the airport, don't just look at their sunglasses—look down. The real story is almost always in the soles.
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