Balenciaga Has A New Cult Sneaker Up Its Sleeve

The fashion pundits are united on the cult trainer of autumn/winter 2020: Balenciaga’s Soccer Sneaker. Premiered at Paris Fashion Week alongside four fictional Balenciaga FC kits in red, navy, black and Stabilo-highlighter yellow, the sports shoes are modelled on classic field cleats (real football boots, for the uninitiated).

Sneakerheads who don’t know their offside rule from their free kicks should not be disheartened by the spiked soles. “The Balenciaga Soccer is made for everyday wear as opposed to athletic activities,” the brand said reassuringly in a press release announcing that the £495 footwear has hit Balenciaga.com. Made from technical, leather-free materials in matte, monochromatic colours and fluorescents, the lightweight designs come with matching logo socks (£75) that would ordinarily be the equivalent of street-style gold at September’s fashion shows.

Balenciaga AW20.

The soccer sneakers were not the only curveball accessory creative director Demna Gvasalia threw onto Balenciaga’s apocalyptic autumn/winter 2020 runway. He teamed up with Vibram to create a “FiveFingers” shoe for outdoorsy types and also dipped a toe in the biker pool via a clutch of motocross boots. But Gvasalia’s decision to kick it in full footie kits was down to his roots. “Footballers and priests were what I grew up with in Georgia,” he told British Vogue at the time. He wanted to strip the functional tropes associated with both – many of the black catwalk looks resembled clerical garb – and “leave only the sensation of a fashion object,” he told members of the press.