Balenciaga and the age of narcissism
With its new Brand Ambassador Fanclub Series campaign, Balenciaga presents its muses in a daring game of mise en abyme, somewhere between a cult of personality and pop culture.
Balenciaga takes its reflection onhyper-incarnation and celebrity a step further. In its latest campaign, the House features five of its ambassadors: Kim Kardashian, Isabelle Huppert, Nicole Kidman, Michelle Yeoh and PP Krit Amnuaydechkorn. The concept? Each wears a T-shirt bearing his or her image, with the autograph printed on the back. The approach flirts with self-celebration and is inspired by concert merchandising, with its mix of collectibles and kitsch.
When Balenciaga plays with fan club codes
This series of T-shirts, unveiled as part of the Fall 2025 collection, takes up the codes of vintage streetwear: loose-fitting cuts, faded prints and XXL typography. It follows in the footsteps of Balenciaga artistic director Demna, who likes to blur the boundaries between luxury and mass culture.
For several years now, Balenciaga has been exploring the world of fandom. In 2020, the brand launched Balenciaga Music, a project combining fashion and exclusive playlists in collaboration with artists such as Acid Arab, RuPaul and Aya Nakamura. In 2021, it went even further, photographing Rammstein fans posing in their bedrooms with pieces inspired by rock merchandising.
Self-portraits as the new signature of luxury
This campaign doesn’t just play with pop references. It sublimates the era of the selfie and narcissism with an ultra-modern communication format: self-portraits, Instagram videos and selfies captured by the stars themselves. A clever way for Balenciaga to appropriate the codes of social networks and anchor its image in a world where ego and notoriety are becoming luxury goods.
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