The Next Huge Balenciaga Shoe Is So Small It's Packable (EXCLUSIVE)
Balenciaga’s shoes have been shrinking fast. The Zero Shoe saw a sneaker reduced to a single slot for your big toe, hanging onto a 3D-molded frame for dear life and putting the fear into podiatrists. The City Sneaker, meanwhile, hopped onto the bandwagon of flat shoe supremacy. And it paved the way for the fashion house tapping into trends rather than setting them.
On January 19 in Paris, Highsnobiety got a first look at a new pair of perhaps Balenciaga's most diminutive non-sandal kicks yet, which debuted in the luxury house's Fall 2026 presentation. These are far from the so-big-they-demand-their-own-zip-code sneakers of the Demna era. Instead, they’re so small that they can be zipped into almost-nothingness and packed away, ideal for stingy carry-on allowances.
Printed in a black-and-grey grid pattern with the brand’s sporty loop logo and constructed to collapse into pouches, these aren't just flat shoes, they're basically pancake shoes. Or “pocket sneakers” as they are apparently called. They first appeared in leaked imagery of the ready-to-wear collection in early January, filed next to horror movie poster graphic tees and a rawr hoodie worthy of your throwback-to-2016 Instagram Stories.
It’s part of Balenciaga's switch into sports mode. While creative director Pierpaolo Piccioli's first show for the fashion house saw a script-flip into Cristobal-era sack dresses and softer styling (albeit with its signature bug-eyed sunglasses), his second collection adds techier elements into the mix, alongside its signature luxe tailoring and dramatic silhouettes.
Fall 2026 includes a collaboration with NBA on leather varsity jackets and denim track pants. An innovative category of sportswear called Techwear also appears, featuring performance fabric acting as a second skin, designed with movement in mind.
The accompanying campaign, shot by Robin Galiegue in Paris, jumps off this get-up-and-go energy, capturing urbanites getting the metro to the gym.
It seems that Piccioli is banking on sports being a leveller, using it as a springboard to express a sense of integrity. That makes for a relatively safe pitch. But the pocket sneakers are the collection’s curveball. Sure, they look like your Merrell packable shoes or Salomon slides, but for a major fashion house to go so campsite with a pair of zip-down shoes feels like new territory. Will these be as big as the Triple S? Unlikely. But they portend big things for the house, big and fresh and even daring things. But, surely, approachable things.
It’s basically Demna’s weird shoe kink, ironed-out into something more streamlined by Piccioli. Good things really do come in small packages.
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