In the latest iteration of their Objects line, Balenciaga have released a series of glass sculptures with iconic trainer styles entombed within. The Laser Cube is a bubblegram, otherwise known as a sub-surface laser engraving, which utilises thousands of laser beams to generate an optical illusion of a three dimensional object suspended inside a solid block.

The sculptures are not exactly what you’d call practical but then neither is a running shoe cast in palladium and brass. The modus operandi of Balenciaga’s Objects line is about recontextualising everyday items, from collectible treasures to functional basics (see their take on a bag for life).

The Laser Cube comes in four different styles, each immortalising four different trainer styles: the Triple S, Track, Tyrex and X-Pander. These transparent holograms are composed of countless points of fracture that have been plotted with minute precision by intersecting laser beams. These points, which number roughly 10,000 for each 5cm of cubic volume, act like the pixels of an image, changing the speed at which lights travels through the glass to give the illusions of a tangible object. Designed to be displayed alone or as part of a series, the sculptures are now available for purchase online.

Discover the Laser Cube here.