Balenciaga's Tire Tread Sneaker Is the New Triple S (For Now)
The Balenciaga Defender sneaker is a surprising shoe to potentially hold the mantle of Balenciaga's inimitable Triple S. Indeed, the Defender is one of the weirdest footwear designs to come from Balenciaga's footwear team, and that's saying something.
Compared to, say, the recent 3XL sneaker — one of the first products Balenciaga pushed following its quiet return to fashion following 2022's scandal — which is really just another chunky pre-distressed runner in the vein of the Track sneaker line, Balenciaga's Defender shoe is even more out-there.
Sporting a wild, super weighty rounded sole — notice that girth-y shoes appear to be the secret to Balenciaga's success — that looks like a tire tread, Balenciaga's Defender sneaker is truly one-of-a-kind design. Like the Triple S, it doesn't merely look like a thicker iteration of the Y2K-era dad shoes that inspired it.
As such, it's apparently popular enough to be given more focus by Balenciaga's footwear designers, so much so that it's been iterated into the laceless Defender Clog, currently available on Balenciaga's website for $1,050.
The new design has already proven popular enough to tempt would-be flippers into attempting Defender Clog resale, and this thing only just came out.
Balenciaga is simultaneously reimagining the OG Defender sneaker with new colorways that're a far cry from the shoe's typical dusty beiges and neutral blacks.
For Summer 2023, the Defender shoe is arriving in some shocking tones of highlighter pink and neon yellow, making the already impressively odd shoe that much more unmissable and all priced at $1,250.
Given that it's rare for Balenciaga to iterate a sneaker design this much — except for hit shoes like the Track series — perhaps the Triple S comparisons are justified.
Balenciaga's Triple S is arguably the gold standard for luxury sneakers. When it released in 2017, the beefy shoe almost singularly redefined the public's perception of expensive statement footwear — basically every Balenciaga sneaker released since has inevitably lived in the Triple S' shadow as a consequence.
While stuff like the Technoclog slippers were never designed to be palatable for a wider audience, the Defender could be poised to quietly break through.
I doubt it'll ever hit the highs of the Triple S, admittedly, but still pretty impressive that one of Balenciaga's strangest designs is becoming as popular is it is.
