Words by Jenny Bär
They’ve been high streetwear currency since the late 2010s. They’ve stirred heat, crave and supersonic demand, while redefining the sports shoe — now a closet cornerstone — for the modern age. Yes, we’re speaking of Balenciaga sneakers and the styles ruling strong this season.
‘Demna has upended the fashion world countless times,’ says Celenie Seidel. ‘But the designer’s sneakers are of a wholly different subversive caliber.’ Luke Raymond expands, ‘They’ve brought unconventional sneaker shapes into the limelight and, years after being launched, still signal peak streetwear cool.’
Below, the senior editors curate the hero styles to invest in this season — from an exclusive reincarnation of the Runner to an all-denim makeover of the Triple S.
The Runner
‘90s-style runners have been making a comeback as part of our turn-of-the-century nostalgia,’ comments Raymond. ‘Blending retro with the forward-looking, Balenciaga catapults this exclusive style further into trend territory with hits of saturated apricot — a key hue that Pantone’s put on the map for the year ahead. If that’s not far-sighted enough, the metallic-silver caging on this iteration amps up the futuristic spin further.’
The 3XL
‘There’s another color story going on here: Balenciaga taps magenta,’ says Seidel. ‘The magnetic hue, a variation on summer’s hothouse pink, stands strong for the new season. On this dad-adjacent pair — again, exclusive to FARFETCH — the shade is used for contouring and extends to the laces, too. It’s such a striking contrast to the muted mesh backdrop.’
The Triple S
‘Balenciaga makes a case for all-denim footwear for FW23. Naturally, this take on the brand’s perhaps most iconic sneaker silhouette is a top-of-wishlist favorite,’ highlights Seidel. ‘Wear yours with go-to jeans and a matching denim jacket for coordinated styling, or use them to refresh an otherwise simple look.’
The Track
‘The rise of hiking sneakers comes as a natural evolution of the now-ruling tech sneaker — enter the Track. It’s high-performance genius,’ remarks Raymond. ‘Our featured hero is enlivened with pop-color accents set against three-dimensional panels of clean white. Use yours to ground a relaxed tee-and-jeans combination or all-black tailoring.’
The Bouncer
‘The Bouncer has gone through many reinterpretations but this is by far the most turbo one, aptly updated for the dipping temperatures,’ notes Raymond. ‘Rendered in all-black and studded with bolts along the supersized tread soles, the pair immediately says heavy duty. It’s a prime example of the functional maximalism Demna is loved for.’