The Balenciaga Triple S Just Got Even Crazier
With a few new twists on Balenciaga’s now-infamous chunky sneaker, the Triple S, Demna Gvasalia seems to have outdone itself. The Triple S isn't the luxury brand’s first foray into the sneakerhead universe—remember the LeBron-loved Arena?—but it’s been unequivocally successful, inspiring knockoffs and the kind of religious fervor formerly reserved for Yeezys. And the shoe has clearly reshaped the outlines of what actually counts as a sneaker. But a new batch of the Triple S, a handful of which are available for preorder via Barneys, mark an even further out-there moment, even for Gvasalia.
These fresh iterations push the Triple S from a dad sneaker to something a little...different. The new 50/50 colorway visually splits the shoe down the middle: one half is rendered in black or grey, cream, and yellow, while the other side is an entirely different palette altogether, featuring red, turquoise, and beige, or tonal grays. Both halves represent beloved Triple S colorways; now you get them at the same time, and for the price of one. Aesthetically, these kicks might be difficult to match to the more colorful pieces in your wardrobe, but that might be the point: when you’re wearing these 50/50s, you don’t need anything else flashy. Your shoes alone tell anyone looking at you exactly how sartorially clued in you are. There’s something seductive about a shoe with that kind of power: instantly recognizable and presumably exclusive (and prohibitively expensive).
Beyond the 50/50, Balenciaga has also released a few versions of the Triple S that will snap anyone who remembers the phrase “Nickelodeon Magazine, please!” to attention. A few new colorways flirt with slime green and electric yellow, mixed with black neoprene to youthful effect. But te most playful pair are without a doubt a pale shoe accented by black and electric blue and golf course green—topped off by curly yellow laces, the kind you might have threaded through your Skechers, and that you could rock even if you didn’t know how to tie a proper bow. Whether he’s just trolling or not is unclear, but Gvasalia still has us hook, line, and sneaker.
$895, available for pre-order at Barneys.
