How Pierpaolo Piccioli is reframing identity at Balenciaga.
Balenciaga has unveiled a new campaign lensed by David Sims, marking the first ambassadors and Friends of the House appointed under the creative direction of Pierpaolo Piccioli. The release also contextualises his debut collections for the house: Summer 2026, “The Heartbeat”, and Fall 2026, “Body and Being”.
Shot within a Parisian artist’s atelier, the campaign unfolds through gridded photographic compositions and video portraits. The architecture, bold yet restrained, references the rawness of primed canvas, creating what Piccioli calls a suspended, heterotopic space where time appears paused and identity comes into sharper focus.
The series introduces new Balenciaga ambassadors: British actor Harris Dickinson; Oscar-nominated American icon Winona Ryder; and South Korean actor Roh Yoon-seo.
New Friends of the House include American actors Danielle Deadwyler and Havana Rose Liu; British composer Labrinth; Canadian actor Hudson Williams; Danish model Mona Tougaard; French model Loli Bahia; and Balenciaga exclusives Ned Sims and Sen Samysheva.
Sims captures a refined yet liberated ready-to-wear offering, modern silhouettes shaped through classic Balenciaga technique, balancing volume with lightness. Portraits oscillate between intimacy and distance, blending direct snapshots with filmed interviews whose spoken fragments form a looping sonic collage.
“My work in this Maison is always about the people who wear the clothes — how they move, how they feel,” Piccioli explains. “The person wears the clothing, not the opposite.”
With the campaign launch, the Balenciaga Summer 2026 collection is available in select stores worldwide and online from February 17th — signalling the beginning of a new community, and a new emotional language for the house.
PHOTO CREDIT: Courtesy of Balenciaga
