It’s called “messy authenticity,” and it’s the latest trend to clearly demonstrate America has lost its collective mind.

Looking for a Maison Margiela sweater with unfinished threads and gaping holes? It’ll cost you nearly $1,500.

How about a designer purse with fringed eyelets, frayed material and uneven seams? That’ll be about $1,700.

How about a “Rag Chair” for your living room that’s stitched together with discarded fabric scraps? That will set you back about $4,000.

I first documented the “designs made to look imperfect” trend nearly 18 years ago. Distressed furniture was one of the first troubling examples.

As it went, people were bringing brand new chairs, tables and dressers into their garages, kicking and scratching the bejesus out of them, then covering them in a lumpy, blotchy paint.

My sister, an interior designer, told me that people did this because........

© Yuma Sun