Balenciaga x Scholl: ugly as the new fashion statement?
When luxury flirts with orthopedics, should we expect a miracle or a stylistic train wreck? Scholl and Balenciaga sign a confusing capsule… and a visibly assumed one .
When fashion pushes the envelope with Balenciaga clogs
Who would have thought that nurses ‘ and cooks ‘ clogs would one day take pride of place in the pantheon of cool? Yet that’s the direction Balenciaga has taken, under Demna‘s leadership, by teaming up with Scholl, the utilitarian shoemaker known for its cork soles… and its total lack of glamour.
The result? An autumn 2025 capsule unveiled via an iPhone shoot – because if you’re going to play the banal card, you might as well go all out. We discover Pescura sandals revisited, with wooden platforms, perforated leather, oversized logos… In short, saturated normcore. We hesitate between arty homage to the everyday and visual provocation.
Balenciage, the sabotage of style… or its reinvention?
It’s hard to say. If this collection is a nod to an era when functionality takes precedence over aesthetics, it’s hard not to see it as yet another nod from Balenciaga, which now seems to regard the ugly as infinite creative territory. And so much the worse for sensitive souls.
Scholl has certainly had its moments. We remember Twiggy, Sarah Jessica Parker and Isaac Mizrahi at Fashion Week 1993. But is transforming an orthopedic accessory into a luxury item a true artistic approach… or just a pirouette to get people talking?
Nostalgia as a cover-up?
In terms of storytelling, we’re treated to the usual clichés: durability, comfort and a return to our roots. As if stacking contradictory codes on a cork sole were enough to justify the dubious aesthetics of the whole.
And yet, the gamble could well work. Because in a world where irony and the absurd have become commonplace on Instagram, these sandals between two worlds could seduce a target in need of subversion.
So, guilty pleasure or gratuitous provocation? You decide… if you dare to wear them.
Also read: Why boat shoes are making a comeback
