Balenciaga has unveiled its latest shoe as part of the Fall 2025 collection. Beini Quian, the luxury brand’s head of sneakers, revealed the shoes on Instagram, which sparked mixed reactions due to the shoe’s design.
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The design of the Zero shoe features a heel cup and a slot for the big toe. The luxury brand describes it as “distilling footwear to its essence.” Made from EVA foam, the shoe will be available in four color options: black, brown, white, and tan. In its lookbook, the Zero is styled both with and without socks. The retail price for the Balenciaga Zero has not yet been announced. However, fans eager to get their hands on this innovative design can preorder the slip-on shoe at select Balenciaga locations. However, the shoe had mixed reviews on social media, as some felt it was too close to barefoot.
One user wrote, “Ain’t no way people is paying Balenciaga thousands of dollars to walk around barefoot.” Another said, “Balenciaga branding for ur foot,” stating some fashion enthusiasts would only purchase the shoe because of the luxury branding.
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“I swear if Balenciaga put spit in a jar and sold it for 350 a jar yall would buy it this is TERRIBLE. Yall might as well buy regular open toe slides 🙄”
According to High Snobiety, this is not Balenciaga’s first venture into barely there footwear, as Quian also designed the Vibram heels and shoes for their Fall/Winter 2020 collection.
Balenciaga’s Zero shoe represents a significant shift from the brand’s recent emphasis on oversized, maximalist sneakers. Over the past decade, the label has become well-known for its exaggerated sneaker designs, beginning with the release of the Triple S in 2017 and culminating in the introduction of the 10XL sneaker earlier this year.