Balenciaga reportedly officially unveiled, on a Thursday, a new range of shoes designed with French manufacturer J.M. Weston, according to WWD. The collaboration is part of ClairObscur, the winter 26 collection designed by Pierpaolo Piccioli, the house's creative director, presented in Paris in March.
The range brings together brogue, d'Orsay, loafer and mule styles in soft calfskin and Nappa leather, combining the codes of both houses in what Balenciaga describes as a hybrid approach. The perforated wingtip lace-up brogue, available in men's and women's sizes, is reworked with worn edges, visible stitching and Balenciaga City metal studs on the upper. The asymmetric men's d'Orsay, meanwhile, features wingtip perforations forming a double-B logo on each toe, with the size marked on the heel by small metal studs. Each pair carries a collaboration logo hot-stamped in gold foil on the insole.
A century-old craftsmanship
Founded in 1891 in Limoges, J.M. Weston still manufactures in a single factory and owns its own sole-leather tannery. The house, which holds the French Entreprise du Patrimoine Vivant designation and supplies boots to the Garde républicaine, produces shoes requiring around 200 manufacturing operations. It belongs to the EPI group, the holding company of the Descours family, which also owns Bonpoint.
The collection is priced between $1,050 and $2,350, according to WWD. It is available in a selection of Balenciaga boutiques worldwide and on balenciaga.com, according to FashionUnited UK.
This collaboration follows the release, in May, of the Balenciaga shoe collection with Manolo Blahnik, which included three styles selected by Piccioli from archival drawings, including a low-heeled mule and a slingback model offered in 105 mm or 50 mm heights. Piccioli explained at the time: « Cette collaboration est née pour des raisons très personnelles. J'aime tout simplement Manolo. C'est tout. Je le connais personnellement et je l'admire depuis longtemps. » He added that he saw in the Spanish shoemaker a sensibility close to that of Cristóbal Balenciaga.
ClairObscur is Piccioli's third collection for the Kering-owned house, and included his first menswear collection for the brand.
