Balenciaga Opens Pre-Orders for Its Distressed Paris Sneaker

Balenciaga continues to grow its footwear range with the new Paris Sneaker, coming in high-top and slip-on mule styles. The Demna-designed pair deviates from previous shoes from the brand, which in recent years have singlehandedly defined the luxury sneaker market and made a case for dad shoes, “ugly” footwear, Y2K trends, and a more-is-more approach. Here, the Paris Sneaker is rather subtle — bar the distressed details — and that even comes down to the choice of launch colors.

Both the highs and the lows come in either red or black, and there’s another white colorway for the highs. Interestingly, it also seems that the colorway plays a part in deciding just how distressed you’d like your Paris Sneaker. For the white iteration, Balenciaga opts for a light amount of distressing, adding a minor amount of frayed detailing to the eyestay area and a few scratches into the heel.

However, the black colorway goes all-out, adding a heavy amount of distressing to the uppers all over. Here, the sole unit is also completely messed, with Balenciaga branding scribbled down the sidewall alongside what looks like a considerable ink leak. The toe cap is dirtied, the heel — where sizing can be seen engraved into the rubber — is worn, and even the laces aren’t fresh-looking.

Sitting between the two is the red version, which is presented with a washed-out effect alongside a light touch of fraying around various touchpoints such as the heel, collar, and eyestay. Rounding out all of the designs is the Balenciaga branding on the toe, its vulcanized sole unit, and the Balenciaga-branded tan rubber outsole.

Take a look at Balenciaga’s Paris Sneaker above, and pre-order yours online now. The mule retails for $495 USD, while the highs come in at $625 USD.