Kim Kardashian Says Goodbye to Her Balenciaga Pantaboots Era

Audrey Hepburn had Givenchy’s little black dresses, Jane Birkin had her namesake Hermès bag, and Kim Kardashian will always have her skintight Balenciaga pantaboots. Yet, this week marks the end of that era for both Balenciaga and fashion in general. The brand’s creative director Demna will bid farewell to the Spanish heritage house tomorrow with a final couture show before assuming creative control of Gucci.

To commemorate, Kim Kardashian is spending today, in her own words, “pantabooting the fuck” out of her Balenciaga footwear collection.

Kardashian took to Instagram to show off two versions of the style, which became something of a signature for Demna during his tenure at Balenciaga. In the post, she wore a black pair with a leather jacket from Balenciaga’s recent collaboration with Lamborghini. But we could only see the bird’s-eye view look at that ‘fit.

She provided a clearer picture of her pink pair in another post, which she put together with a Balenciaga dress with a dramatic leg slit in the same color. She was later seen wearing the outfit after exiting Balenciaga HQ in Paris.

This is just a drop in the bucket of Kim’s history with the controversial garment.

Over the years, Kardashian has worn the pantaboot in nude, silver, red, blue, and at least two other distinct shades of pink. She’s worn them in spandex, stretchy velvet, and leather. She’s incorporated them into Barbiecore and into Mob Wife looks. She’s worn them done up in animal prints, and she’s worn them with rosters printed on the hip. The general concept of the shoe was also incorporated into her iconic “silhouette” look from the 2021 Met Gala in which she was covered completely in black Balenciaga fabric from head to toe, leaving only her ponytail exposed. She also wore them to deliver her instantly iconic Saturday Night Live monologue.

One Balenciaga, two Balenciaga, red Balenciaga, blue Balenciaga: Kim Kardashian has worn the shoes more often than your teenager brother has worn ratty basketball shorts to an important family dinner.

Throughout multiple different eras, stylists, and even boyfriends, the pantaboots have remained.

Of course, the importance of the shoe to Kardashian’s personal closet also reflects their importance to Demna’s work at Balenciaga.

Though he had designed sky-high boots before (Kardashian is also a fan of particularly dramatic pair he made at Vetements), the pantaboot as we know it first debuted in Balenciaga’s spring 2017 collection, Demna’s second womenswear runway collection for the house. Assumedly inspired by the Pan-T-Boots, a brief fad in the 1960s, the all-in-one shoe-and-leggings combo have been reimagined over time.

While these Instagrams seem to confirm that Kardashian will be in attendance to for Demna’s final Balenciaga show, they open up another question: Will she make the jump to Gucci as an ambassador, or is this an end to her chapter with Demna as well? Will Kim continue to wear the shoes, even if they aren’t (*gasp*) current collection? Mostly, we have to wonder if Demna will present one final couture iteration of the Balenciaga pantaboots tomorrow. One pair of pantaboots to rule them all? If so, well, we know exactly who should get to wear them first.