Balenciaga's Birkenstock sandal fixation has gone too far. Or is that toe far?
It's one thing to slap extra digits on the end of Birkenstock's Boston clog but playing footsy with the Arizona sandal? One toe over the line.
But that doesn't change the fact that Birkenstock's Sunday Sandal — an Italian-made leather-wrapped two-strap summer shoe bearing a suspicious resemblance to a sandal made by a historic German shoemaker — is selling briskly on Balenciaga's web store.
So briskly, in fact, that nearly half of the $750 shoe's eight sizes are already sold out.
Now, I'll grant you that an all-black Birkenstock Arizona is doesn't currently exist, unless you're talking about Birkenstock 1775 — at $500, it's nearly as expensive as the Balenciaga version — or Birkenstock's squishy and affordable EVA rubber sandals.
But is Balenciaga's luxury shoe really the answer?
Perhaps if the original Arizona somehow wasn't feet-centric enough for you.
Birkenstock's Sunday footwear line is where the luxury label puts its best (?) foot forward, pressing five digits into the all-black toebox of some verrrrrrry familiar-looking clogs. It's already tackled the Boston clog and recently rolled out a $700 version of Crocs' Classic Clog, for instance.
But Balenciaga's Birken-not Arizona? That's a new one.
Not since Balenciaga creative director Demna's final Vetements collection, which included disturbingly anatomical flip-flops, has the designer delved into open-toe shoes with actual toe shapes.
There is something innately unnerving about shoes that emphasize the feet though I'll grant Balenciaga credit for actually pushing the envelope, at least a little.
Nothing beats Birkenstock's peerless original but nothing's worse than the endless parade of imitators that won't even pay Birkenstock lip service, let alone innovate beyond the OG.
I'm not particularly glad to see Arizona sandals that emphasize the foot even further than they already do but, hey, at least they're a little different.
