Balenciaga Takes Its Sneakers to New Extremes with the Five-Toed Anatomic Runner for Fall 2025
Balenciaga has been pushing the boundaries of footwear for nearly a decade now, but 2024 was the year the brand fully leaned into making shoes as weird as possible. Whether it was the ultra-exaggerated proportions of the 10XL sneaker, the staple-punctured Stapler sneaker, alien-adjacent Foamposite-inspired basketball shoes or the recently teased barefoot Zero shoe, there was no lane too left field for the Demna-led fashion house. One of its latest sneaker offerings, the five-toed Anatomic Runner, further delves into the unexpected — although it’s not the first time Balenciaga has released this kind of design.
After formally working with Vibram on Five Fingers-inspired “Toe” footwear in 2020, Balenciaga is returning to the concept for fall 2025, but this time it’s doing it in house.
Watch on FN
Previewed in the same Demna-shot lookbook that the Zero shoe was debuted in is the Anatomic Runner. The shoe uses a sock-like elasticated mesh upper and a traditional lacing system with a large version of the brand’s Loop Sports logo appearing on both sides.
Of course, the sneaker’s signature detail is its decoupled toe outsole, which, unlike the Vibram Five Fingers collaboration, doesn’t completely separate the wearer’s toes. Instead, the design is exactly as its name suggests, offering an anatomical shape that follows the lines of the foot.
Thus far, the Balenciaga Anatomic Runner has been previewed in white, black and orange colorways. The sneaker was featured in looks 14, 34 and 41 of the fall ’25 collection and was previewed in detailed images by Balenciaga insider @myfacwhen_o on Instagram.
Retail pricing has not yet been announced, but the shoe is available for pre-order now at select Balenciaga locations.
