…is a monster truck of a shoe. Let the ugliness go on

Balenciaga, it seems, is bent on sticking to ugly and freakish sneakers. Their soon-to-be-released style, known as the Defender, presumably tries to reprise the Triple-S and Track’s ridiculous massiveness and their busy overlays (also seen in the Tyrex), and, in doing so, also duplicate their just-as-large success. First seen during the brand’s red-carpet-as-runway spring/summer 2022 presentation in October, the Defender appears to be the hunkiest of Balenciaga’s footwear releases, in line with the still large silhouette of their apparel. There is no reversing the course for Balenciaga: the bigger the better. Only now for the new shoe, avuncular is cooler than dad-like.

But is the overall shape of the Defender really new? When we first saw the profile images of the shoe, we thought of MBT immediately! Yes, the Swiss(!) “physiological footwear” brand known for their chunky shoes and curved soles. According to the company’s sales literature, their shoes and the unique soles—such as those seen in the brand’s Kibo GTX—offer “your body benefits from (the) extensive MBT technology” which “ensures a complete rolling movement (that) improves your balance and posture.” Such curve-soled footwear are also popular known as “rocker bottom shoes”. It isn’t known if the Balenciaga Defender offers any physiological benefit, but they will likely provide psychological advantage to those for whom being ostentatiously shod is comfort to their very being.

Balenciaga Defender is expected to launch next year. Price TBC. Photo: Balenciaga