This PS5 T-shirt costs more than a PS5

Last year, Balenciaga held its fall 2021 Fashion Week show in a video game called Afterworld: Age of Tomorrow. I got together with Emilia Petrarca, fashion news writer at The Cut, to talk about the collaboration, and she explained some of the history behind Balenciaga and its creative director, Demna Gvasalia — particularly that he’s also added a playful, disorienting touch to his collections and shows. “You’re not sure if it’s heaven or hell, or both, or a joke or dead serious,” Petrarca said.

That’s the first thing that came to mind when I saw Balenciaga’s new PlayStation 5 T-shirt, which retails for a price significantly higher than that of an actual PlayStation 5. The T-shirt costs $675, while the standard console retails for $499. Certainly, there’s some irony there for us to appreciate, unintentional or not — but the price isn’t all too high for a Balenciaga T-shirt, anyway.

Image: Balenciaga

If you are feeling even more rich, there’s a sweatshirt for $875, which, if you don’t have a PS5 yet, might be able to get you on the secondhand market. If you’ve already gotten one of the coveted consoles, you might not be aware, but: There just aren’t enough of them to go around, and Sony reportedly expects the PlayStation 5 be in short supply through 2022.

Either way, if you’re interested in the vibe that these two PlayStation T-shirt models are giving off, you should check out Afterword: Age of Tomorrow. In the surreal fashion show experience, there’s a lot more where that came from.