After Turning Out the World's Fattest Sneakers, Balenciaga Wants You To Go Barefoot
Balenciaga’s latest shoe is hardly a shoe.
Meet the Balenciaga Zero, which is little more than a rubber sole with caps that grip the big toe and heel. The toe-shaped imprints on the outsole are reminiscent of Vibram’s Five Fingers, a second-skin shoe that features articulated toes.
The Zero, however, pares things down even further, something no one could've thought possible. While Vibram’s toe shoes feature a grippy sole and velcro closure, Balenciaga’s features the structural integrity of a flip-flop.
I'm all for minimalism, but this seems a bit extreme. Onlookers seem to agree. When Beini Quian, Balenciaga's head of sneakers and a barefoot footwear enthusiast, properly revealed the Balenciaga Zero on Instagram, comments were skeptical.
"Maybe if the upper had some sort of reinforced leather…" said one user.
Others opted for a more direct approach: "Please go to hell."
As shocking as this shoe's borderline non-existent appearance may be, it's not really a surprise that Balenciaga's footwear has veered into this barely-there space.
The writing was on the wall, really, as Qiuan has long experimented with super-flat footwear. Her approach has manifested in both semi-conventional sneakers like the Balenciaga Reptile sneaker and wild experiments like the toe-licious Balenciaga x Vibram heels but the Zero represents a new low — low-profile, that is.
2024 has already been a big year for super slim sneakers, from Miu Miu’s 2D New Balance to Coperni’s Puma ballet flat.
Come 2025, though Balenciaga is taking things to the logical extreme.
