Payless opened a fake luxury store with shoes at $ 600

The Payless shoe retailer recently had some fun at the expense of fashion influencers in Santa Monica, California.

The retailer recently took over an old Armani store, stocked it with Payless merchandise, and invited influential fashion figures to attend a party celebrating its opening. But there was a difference: they thought attending the opening of the store for a new upscale designer, Palessi, who was not looking for Payless shoes.

Influential people who attended the party paid between $ 200 and $ 600 for Payless shoes with a traditional price of $ 20 to $ 40, and many guests explained that their purchases were "sophisticated" or "made with high quality materials ".

The goal was to remind customers that the retailer is an affordable shopping destination. Payless is not traditionally a brand that influencers badociate with haute couture.

Shoes worth more than $ 3,000 were sold during the store's first hours of operation. These purchases, as well as the reactions when buyers discovered that they were buying Payless shoes, will feature in a series of retailer ads on cable networks such as Lifetime and Bravo, as well as on social media . AdWeek reports.

And for all these purchases: the influencers who made the purchases will not be charged for these purchases, but they will have kept the shoes.