Balmain's Unicorn sneaker is an undeniably wild design.
The work of Safa Sahin, Balmain's head of sneaker design with an eye for unconventional, futuristic silhouettes, the shoe features a huge 3-inch-plus sole unit that tapers at the front to create a pointed toe. Meanwhile, the sporty neoprene upper doesn't offer much conservatism.
And, as if that wasn't enough, the French fashion house has tapped sneaker customizer Ant Kai to give it an even more eye-catching look.
The Seattle-based artist took Balmain's wildest sneaker and gave it a new look through a blue and white cloud print, a motif he's previously gone viral for adding on models like New Balance's 550 or the Nike x Off-White™ Dunk.
Limited to only 150 pairs, the sneakers drop on December 5 via the Balmain website. And, if you are quick enough to get one of the highly-limited pairs (which can be bought with cryptocurrency), you'll also receive an exclusive by an NFT created in partnership with tech company Space Runners.
The customizable NFT lets the owner choose between a selection of Kai's artwork through AI-generated features.
The latest example of non-fungible tokens being used in the fashion industry, this Balmain Unicorn joins recent footwear releases from the likes of Dior as well as Nike and RTKFT as they combine the worlds of sneakers with Web3.
Whether you're looking to add to your sneaker collection IRL, in the digital world, or both, one thing's for sure: Balmain has not made many of these collaborative shoes so you better be quick.
