On December 2nd, esteemed fashion house and contemporary fashion provocateurs, Balenciaga, held their first runway fashion show in Los Angeles, the Fall 2024 collection. Celebrities gathered and walked their Hollywood street runway, as Christobel Balenciaga’s house showed off its latest wares, courtesy of its mononymous creative director Demna. 

Little in the collection was particularly new or interesting — much of the same black drapey fabric, oversized cuts, pre-distressing, 90s sportswear influences, and trompe-l’oeil household items and gimmicks. They even released a collaborative range with an LA grocery store chain, Erewhon, because of course they did. But most eyes were turned to what was on their models’ feet; Balenciaga’s latest potentially-hit shoe, the 10XL Sneaker. That the first model to walk the runway was wearing little beside them was not incidental.

They cost $1,490,  come in pre-aged greys and blues, and look markedly similar to chunky New Balances — which invariably are made better, cost over $1,000 less, and look 1,000 times better. But the unique appeal of these sneakers is hinted at in the name, “10XL.” They’re enormous. 

To those outside of fashion —— and many within — this is just a grotesque gimmick, intended to draw clicks. And though Balenciaga takes the chunky-sneaker trend to the absolute extreme, and started that trend, they’re hardly alone in this exercise. Rather, it’s hard to find a designer brand whose sneakers are not chunky, if not borderline inflated. 

Dior has oversized skate shoes, as does Lanvin,  Amiri, and Louis Vuitton. Alexander McQueen is sustained on their sales of the Stan-Smith-ripoff  “Oversized Sneaker,” whose inflated soles overshadow the house’s masterful tailoring; and the same is true for Balmain, which goes even more extreme with their wild ‘Unicorn’ sneakers. Bottega Veneta has a reputation for straying from trends, and even they have clown-shoe Converses in their ’Jumbo Sneaker’ and mirror McQueen’s homework with their ‘Pillow Sneakers’.

Not all of these are bad. The Pyer Moss Sculpt, manufactured by Reebok, are among my favourite designer sneakers of recent years.  Similarly, though many of Balenciaga’s sneakers look as though they’ve been run over by a convoy of semi trucks and ride-on lawnmowers, their chunky shoes have more hits than misses. Their Triple S is one of the most popular shoes of the 2010s, despite their chunky size and more than $1,000 price tag, and that’s no surprise; they look great in a wide range of colours, particularly on women. Their Bouncers are another highlight, with an outsole inspired by offroad tyres. 

But why then have every brand taken to this style? It’s been a long-lasting popular trend, since Balenciaga introduced the Triple S, and Adidas-Yeezy released the 700 Waverunner; both of which took the dismissed ‘dad sneakers’ and made it modern and stylish. Chunky shoes could be more comfortable than the slim sneakers popular in the early 2000s, and they go well with wide-fitting trousers; another recent trend. 

It’s worth noting however that this chunky-sneaker style is only dominant within the luxury space, and that reveals the more basic, meaningful reason they have stayed in style; chunky sneakers draw the eye. 

And when someone spends over $1000 on a pair of designer sneakers — which are often no better made than those from $150 offerings from Nike or Adidas — they want people to notice. Given how much attention was given to Balenciaga’s latest, hugest shoe, I don’t expect the trend will be leaving runways anytime soon.