French fashion house Balenciaga is leaning on cinematic inspirations for its latest promotional drop.
Launched this month, the brand’s summer 2025 campaign draws upon classical Hollywood history and archetypes. For the initiative, creative director Demna Gvasalia linked up with British artist and filmmaker Nadia Lee Cohen to bring these characters to life, enlisting a group of accomplished and up-and-coming entertainment industry names to fill the conventional roles.
“Balenciaga has become a very visible fashion brand in the film industry over the past few years and this latest campaign dives even deeper into the house’s admiration of all things cinematic,” said Daymon Bruck, chief creative officer at The O Group, New York.
“Balenciaga also seems to be playing with the concept of contrasts within this campaign: Modern and classic, playful and serious, commercial and artistic, nostalgia and reinvention.”
Mr. Bruck is not affiliated with Balenciaga, but agreed to comment as an industry expert
Vibrant Personalities
Across a series of portraits and short films, the maison is transporting its viewers into the pre-production of a classical Hollywood film.
Each image is styled to resemble mid-century costume tests behind iconic character archetypes of the silver screen, including “The Socialite,” “The Villain,” “The Main Character,” “The Girl Next Door” and “Her,” a take on the in-demand, magnetic industry “it girl” of the time.
Balenciaga presents its Summer 2025 campaign
The large cast includes American actor Kyle MacLachlan, American actresses Georgia Ford and Rachel Sennott, Senegalese artist Coumba Samba, Chinese actor Zhou You, Russian actor Mark Eydelshteyn, Swiss actress Sunnyi Myles and model Linda Honeyman, who appears as herself.
“Playing with themes of identity, desirability and performance, Balenciaga’s Summer 2025 campaign presents a stylized world of modern glamour and role-play to potential and current customers,” said Mr. Bruck.
Stills capture the multidisciplinary talents in a monochromatic set, surrounded by various period accurate furnishings and on-set equipment, such as spotlights and metal fans. Each figurehead stands next to a film slate, filled out with their respective names, a credit to Ms. Cohen, a scene number, and the role they’re playing in the fictional film, titled “Summer 25 Campaign.”
Many of the actors take on characters they are familiar with, as Ms. Sennott plays “Her” and Mr. MacLachlan becomes “The Villain.” Image credit: Balenciaga/Nadia Lee Cohen
These characters are portrayed through various looks made up by the seasonal collection, spanning ready-to-wear, footwear, handbags, jewelry, undergarments and pieces from the house’s collaboration with luxury shoemaker Scholl. Separate still-life shots capture updated takes on the Laurel Classic Polo, Rodeo Bag, Basketball Sneaker and other prominent product lines and designs.
The summer men’s and women’s selections are available now in select stores and on Balenciaga’s website.
Tinseltown Talents
During Mr. Gvasalia’s tenure at the helm of the maison – which is set to end soon (see story) – Balenciaga has built lasting relationships in the entertainment industry.
In the past year and change, names such as Kim Kardashian, Kate Moss, Nicole Kidman, Naomi Watts, Isabelle Hupert and Michelle Yeoh have signed on to star in its campaigns or as brand ambassadors.
Ms. Sennott and Mr. Eydelshteyn add to the maison’s roster of rising talents
Hollywood connections seem to be growing in importance to luxury labels, with campaigns from various houses launching the past month featuring the likes of English thespians Kate Winslet, Nicholas Hoult, Aimee Lou Wood and Jodie Turner-Smith (see story), and American actresses Chloë Sevigny (see story) and Issa Rae (see story).
“Luxury fashion and Hollywood share many of the same brand drivers: aspiration, fantasy, notoriety and glamour to name a few,” said Mr. Bruck.
“These drivers are also held in high regard by a Balenciaga consumer who identifies strongly with their own ‘main character’ persona – an idea captured deftly by this new campaign.”
The marketing behavior could be tied to industry-wide financial stagnation (see story), with promotional strategies leaning on established names to attempt to appeal to reliable clientele and up-and-coming talents to draw in varied niches of aspirational consumers.
Original article published in Luxury Daily, March, 2025
