Beini Quian
Beini Quian, Balenciaga’s head of sneakers and footwear, is known to be a fan of minimalist footwear. Her unique style is reflected in the minimalism of The Zero. It resembles a structured flip-flop with a capped big toe and supported heel. Otherwise, the rest is bare. The minimal detailing on the shoe resembles the ridges of a skin print, exaggerating the look and feel of being barefoot.
Throughout Beini’s Instagram feed, people can get a sense of her creative vision—minimalism with an edge. For the most part, minimalism is easy to digest visually and plays with neutral colors to create a natural and earthy feel. Although those elements are found throughout Beini’s feed, the emotion of her creativity is far from calm. She does a great job of using “normal” elements and contrasting them with another natural component that doesn’t seem to belong.
For example, this almost barefoot shoe isn’t complex. It’s simple, yet it elicits so much emotion. Regardless of the emotional direction, so much is felt with minimal material, color, and style. The reaction from The Zero is similar to the previous barefoot aesthetic launches from the early 2000s. The difference between this launch and previous infamous toe shoe launches is that this toe shoe leverages simplicity.
Who else popularized this toe-shoe trend?
The Vibram Five Finger Shoe launched in 2002, opening a freaky new market. Clearly, this is a controversial niche but a demand no less. They specialize in quality running shoes and have a line of eco-friendly options. However, the idea behind the five-finger model is to create a “second skin” effect for barefoot runners. As odd as it may sound, they won “Best Invention of 2007” from Time Magazine.
Similarly, Suicoke, a Japanese brand, has worked in collaboration with Vibram since 2014. Their initial mark in the industry was in functional outdoor footwear, which is known for its unique designs. Eventually, their design perspective elevated Vibram’s Five Finger Shoe by adding a nail polish detail to the toes alongside designer Midorikawa. Thus, their collaboration was launched into a media controversy of its time.
Maybe the world is bored of normal?
Toe shoes have been around for quite some time and have always been considered a controversial clothing statement. This isn’t the first time Balenciaga experimented with toe shoes. In 2020, Balenciaga released their sneaker and high-heel collaboration using Vibram’s five-toe style. A couple of years later, in 2023, Vibram and Suicoke released another infamous painted-toe nail shoe design. Again, such a style will force you to look, but beyond that, there is clearly a market since these launches seem to be more frequent.
Despite the initial cringe the public experiences when discussing this shoe style, there is a growing trend of influencers styling them more often online. Minimalism is always a chic style guide, but there is a craving for punchy statement pieces. The judgment of whether these shoes are too much, or some may argue, not enough, adds to the popularity around its controversy. Seeing influencers take a shot at styling such a controversial shoe poses the question, is this a developing trend that's worth $450?