Are barefoot shoes having a comeback? After Balenciaga's last show, the original Vibram FiveFingers are back on the radar

During the last Paris Fashion Week FW20, Balenciaga brought shoes very similar to the Vibram FiveFingers – a shoe model introduced by the Italian brand in 2004 and originally conceived by Robert Fliri in 1999. The barefoot shoes seen at the Balenciaga show are the latest stage in a journey that has led technical, highly performative products, designed for the hiking to get closer and closer to the world of fashion, as happened also for Arc'teryx, that Virgil Abloh took from the forests and mountains of British Columbia to his Off-White™ show. If for Arc'teryx the transition was immediate, the same cannot be said of the FiveFingers – shoes that enjoy a certain cult status but are still considered to be the preserve of individuals more interested in the new age practice of barefooting or athletics than fashion.

However, we are still a long way from the entry of a shoe as particular as the FiveFingers into the mainstream of culture. They are still considered extravagant footwear and inspire a vague sense of cringe when you see them around. But it's certainly not excluded that one day they will be accepted by the public as something normal. As with sneakers, which in the 1960s it was unthinkable to wear outside the gym, even for barefoot shoes the time will come. Balenciaga only anticipated it.