Footwear News

Lauren Sánchez Bezos arrived at Balenciaga’s fall 2025 couture show in Paris wearing the house’s most recognizable silhouette: the Knife Pump. Defined by its elongated toe, low vamp and exaggerated point, the stiletto has become a fixture of Balenciaga’s footwear lexicon since its debut in 2017 — and a recurring choice for Sánchez Bezos in recent seasons.

The matte black version she wore featured a leather upper with a satin sheen finish and the shoe’s hallmark knife-sharp toe box. With a high arch and pin-thin heel, the design reads angular from every angle, mirroring the architecture of her sharply tailored coat dress. The calf-length garment buttoned high at the neck and flared subtly at the hem, exposing the full profile of the pump — a recurring tactic in Demna’s womenswear styling, where the footwear often acts as punctuation for a silhouette’s story.

Sánchez Bezos kept the rest of the styling minimal, save for her signature oversize black sunglasses and the now-infamous Balenciaga 9 AM Clutch — a $5,750 minaudière, according to Saks Fifth Avenue. First released in 2022 as part of the brand’s commentary on disposability and consumer packaging, the piece has since become a viral emblem of Sánchez Bezos’ personal wardrobe. Made from calf leather and shaped to resemble a takeaway cup, the clutch remains one of Balenciaga’s more self-referential accessories.

Her appearance in head-to-toe black couture comes just over a week after her multiday wedding to Jeff Bezos in Venice, where she wore custom Dolce & Gabbana and vintage Alexander McQueen. Balenciaga was one of the brands to benefit from the event’s $222 million media impact valuation, according to Launchmetrics — an exposure Sánchez Bezos has continued to amplify in the days since.

This look marks a return to the more sculptural minimalism she wore during her wedding week’s morning-of outfit, when she channeled Audrey Hepburn in a nipped-waist blazer and pencil skirt. But unlike that soft cream palette, Wednesday’s look leaned into Demna’s darker futurism, drawing a direct line between bridal elegance and Balenciaga’s sharpened edge.