Are we going to see a new Balenciaga football boot soon?

During his tenure as creative director of Balenciaga, which has now lasted since 2015, Demna Gvasalia has accustomed us to collections characterized by ambiguous items and, above all, experimental silhouettes, especially when it comes to footwear. However, the Georgian designer has not yet ventured concretely into the world of football, an imaginary already explored in 2024 (likely distant from his cultural heritage, which has undoubtedly influenced his creative process from day one, from the runway shows to the lookbooks, to the overall imagery of the brand, which has become a true institution). The 2024 Soccer Series collection and, even earlier, the launch of the brand's first real football boot in 2020, are examples of this.

Over the last decade, in its own anarchic way, Balenciaga has established itself as a brand aware of its dependence on two key aspects: launching trends and, above all, following them, offering its own interpretation, sometimes in contrast to the countless players on the market.

In recent hours, some images of the concept designed by footwear designer Stanislav have surfaced online. This is a Balenciaga football boot, different from the 2020 version, and anyone with even a little experience can immediately tell: it's unthinkable to play football in this footwear. The upper is absolutely not suitable, but it's also clear how the presence of a sole with studs refers to sports that use the so-called cleats (such as football, rugby, American football, baseball, and cricket). However, it is more likely that Stanislav chose to join a trend that is bound to explode in 2025: the rise of football-inspired shoes (or simply those with futsal and indoor soles). Returning to the silhouette, the one chosen by Stanislav is practically the curved one that characterizes the famous Bouncer model by Balenciaga, which debuted in 2022. It's almost as if it were a prediction of what Balenciaga could do in the future—not just making a "classic" football boot, but creating a version that follows a style which, whether liked or not, has made Balenciaga unique in the fashion world.

If the Bouncer model struggles to make it into the top three sneakers designed by Demna Gvasalia since the beginning of his tenure at Balenciaga (considering only hype and cultural impact, the Triple S, Speed Runner, and Track definitely deserve inclusion), it must be said that, looking back now and building at least a slightly romanticized and perhaps unlikely inspiration around them, it almost seems like the Georgian designer wanted to ring an alarm bell for a football-inspired shoe trend that would spread about two years later. The Bouncer models, in fact, featured a sort of studded sole—though it's true that the inspiration was not too obvious.

While we wait for the first Balenciaga football boot, the brand has launched the Basketball Series, which is very similar to last year's Soccer Series, but with, of course, leather varsity jackets and jerseys as the main items. If Balenciaga is a brand that, strategically, often tends to stand out with irreverent items that soon go viral – from bags shaped like potato chip bags, to trash bag-shaped bags, to Crocs with heels – when it comes to sports, it seems to take a decidedly low-profile approach. This was evident first with the football boot released in 2020, then with the Soccer Series collection, then with the collaboration with Under Armour, and now, similarly, the Basketball Series confirms it. When it comes to sports, Balenciaga almost seems to "reset" the aesthetic of these fields; even in the Basketball Series, there are no too many frills. No patches, relatively minimal items, and the joy of basketball doesn't quite come through.