FEET FIRST: Olivier Rousteing keeps pushing sneakers in new directions: The latest being high-tops for resort 2022 boast uppers with cutouts, giving them sandal airs.
Cue the new Balmain Sneaker Hub, slated to go live today on the French brand’s website. The mini-site is designed to give sneakerheads access to all the latest news and updates below the ankle from Rousteing and his team.
The content-heavy site will initially put the spotlight on Renforshort, an up-and-coming Canadian singer-songwriter prized for her smoky voice, provocative lyrics, and catchy tracks that range from pop and alt-rock to punk.
She wears the latest B-Bold sneakers in a series of “digital art creations” by the Berlin studio Sucuk und Bratwurst. In one, Renforshort is pictured lounging on an undulating ribbon, with giant cassette tapes hovering in the background.
Future content is to include photo shoots, videos, playlists, and inspirations from key partners, including Hypebeast. For the launch, Rousteing and Renforshort also co-curated a special update to the Balmain Signature playlist on Apple Music.
According to Paris-based Balmain, Rousteing pushes himself, craftsmen, calendars, budgets and manufacturers to the absolute limit in pursuit of sneaker innovation. The futuristic B-Bold model, introduced with the pre-fall 2020 collection, features two independent, contoured soles for a unique profile.