Fashion house Balenciaga introduces the Radar Sneaker, a new footwear design developed under Creative Director Pierpaolo Piccioli. The release marks one of Piccioli’s first footwear projects for the house and reflects an approach that considers Balenciaga’s established design language alongside present-day design pace. The name Radar refers to classic potential-tracking technology and frames the concept behind the sneaker.
SNEAKERS
The Radar Sneaker presents a lightweight and streamlined construction. The design draws inspiration from radio detection, which suggests heightened awareness and intuition. Balenciaga translates that concept into footwear through a slender silhouette that combines multiple structural elements within a single form. The design aims to deliver flexibility, responsiveness, comfort, and everyday wearability through a technical yet refined construction.
The sneaker uses a double lacing system that wraps around the entire upper. This feature secures the structure of the shoe while contributing to its visual identity. The lacing pattern travels around the silhouette and creates an interconnected structure between the upper and the rest of the design. A gripping element curls around the outsole and extends upward along the form of the shoe. This sculptural component visually connects the sole with the upper and reinforces the technical character of the design.
Balenciaga integrates several graphic details into the Radar Sneaker. Highly structured sections display a debossed 3B sport icon together with Balenciaga’s exposed shoe size marking. The markings appear directly within the structure of the shoe and contribute to its technical presentation.
Balenciaga also develops a second interpretation titled the Radar Ballerina. This version adapts the design language of the sneaker to a slimmer and lower-cut silhouette. The Radar Ballerina preserves key elements of the original design while presenting them through a more compact structure. It will be available in greyscale and baby pink on black-and-white variations.
The Radar Sneaker pre-launched in late February 2026 in select Balenciaga stores worldwide and on balenciaga.com. A wider rollout will follow in mid-March, introducing additional colorways and expanding availability to more stores. Later in March, the Radar Ballerina will join the release as part of the same footwear concept.
