Balenciaga Basketball Puts the "Ball" in Ball-Enciaga
Balenciaga is starting the year with a slam dunk — a sartorial one, that is.
The Basketball Series is Balenciaga's surprisingly uncomplicated take on sportswear iconography, coming just in time for the Summer 2025 release of Balenciaga's forthcoming Foamposite-flavored Basketball Sneaker.
Luxury basketball crossovers are nothing new, and basketball players have been showing love to Balenciaga since the dawn of tunnel fit mania. Now, it seems like the brand is ready to return the favor.
The collection carries a heavy throwback energy with an oversized basketball jersey that wears Balenciaga's blocky logo and a 01 jersey number, likely a numeric callback to the year that luxury conglomerate Kering acquired the brand amid the buzzy release of its City bag, which recently experienced a renaissance of its own.
For all of the collection's manufactured sportiness — because let's be real, none of these pieces are intended for anything sweatier than a quick pickup game — the pieces still maintain a slight air of Balenciaga's avant-garde sensibility, like the leather varsity jacket that resembles some of Balenciaga's other bomber offerings.
The collection also includes a defiantly casual pair of jacquard-knit gym shorts, that contrast luxury materials with an overtly casual silhouette. Said shorts have matching tanks that turn P.E. staples into a full-on fashion fiasco — in a good way. There's just something so decidedly chic yet disruptive about baggy basketball shorts posed as luxury.
It can be hard to decipher exactly what era Balenciaga is in at any given time. After all, a standalone Balenciaga basketball collection is so uncomplicated that it almost feels out of place.
Studded clogs and excessively laced sneakers? A basketball collection? Totally out of left field (or court, in this case). But given that all luxury labels are perpetually playing with elevated athleisure, the hoops aesthetic fits comfortable alongside with Balenciaga's otherwise exuberant MO.
This disposition has also manifested in more playful and unconventional moments as of late, like a $70,000 hammerhead shark sculpture for F1 or a juicy Erewhon collab complete with aprons, tote bags, and jet-black pressed drinks. Refreshing!
The timing for this Basketball collection, though, is quite curious, considering the NBA season is already well underway, and the finals aren't for another four months, making a mid-season debut feel kind of random.
But if any brand knows how to leverage spontaneity, it’s Balenciaga.
If you are lucky enough to have your team make the playoffs, you can get your game-day Balenciaga Basketball fits on Balenciaga's website right now. Swoosh!
