Balenciaga’s New $1,890 ‘Reptile Sneakers’ Are as Wild as They Are Expensive
After recently releasing a shoe literally punctured with 200 hand-applied staples and unveiling the Foamposite-esque Basketball Sneaker during its spring 2025 show, Balenciaga is once again taking footwear to new extremes with the launch of the Reptile Sneaker.
First previewed in March as part of its fall 2024 show, the Balenciaga Reptile Sneaker makes a strong case for being the French fashion house’s most daring design thus far. Explained by Balenciaga as having “exaggerated proportions and layering,” the brand’s product description is an understatement.
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With an elongated, curved toe and a laceless slip-on construction, the Reptile Sneaker is one of Balenciaga’s most jarring offerings yet—which will likely only further its appeal to devotees of the brand’s experimental approach.
The Balenciaga Reptile Sneaker is made completely free of leather, instead using polyurethane and polyester to make up the multi-layered sneaker. The result is a mash-up effect in which each of the upper’s pieces look like they’ve been wrenched from different sneakers and cobbled back together. It’s a daunting design, yet one that’s already managed to go viral following its March debut.
Finer details include the Balenciaga and 3B Sports logos at the toe and midsole and the brand’s Loop Sports logo below the tongue and at the heel. A rubberized version of the Balenciaga logo appears on the tongue. As usual with Balenciaga’s sneakers, the European sizing is also prominently displayed, this time appearing on the heel of the shoe.
Like many of the designer brand’s other sneakers, the avant-garde aesthetic will come at a premium price point. The Balenciaga Reptile Sneaker retails for $1,890, making it the most expensive sneaker model in the label’s lineup. The only sneakers Balenciaga offered that surpass it are rhinestone-bedazzled versions of the 3XL Sneaker and Triple S Sneaker, both of which retail for $2,590.
The Balenciaga Reptile Sneaker is available now in multicolor and black styles from balenciaga.com and select Balenciaga stores.
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