Balenciaga’s CNY in the city: Culture meets urban cool in new campaign

Candied fruit, red lanterns, and shared laughter set the scene as Balenciaga steps into the Chinese market in 2026. On January 6, the Paris-based luxury house unveiled a limited-edition collection to celebrate the Year of the Horse. The launch was accompanied by a series of short films shot in Shanghai by photographer John Yuyi, who drew inspiration from the festival’s most familiar and joyful activities. Starring friends of the house Ma Sichun, Yang Chaoyue, and Chen Feiyu, along with popular content creators Tan Suan and JM, the videos capture moments of tradition and excitement in the bustling city — a fitting backdrop for the street-style collection. Set to swelling music, the montage evokes a sense of warmth and community, establishing an upbeat tone for the new year. Balenciaga has made its name breaking away from convention — and that applies to Chinese New Year campaigns. Ahead of the 2026 festival, the brand continues to innovate its visuals, combining classic symbols, edgy fashion, and emotional storytelling to cement its lead in China. Urban cool meets cultural flair The Balenciaga logo is front and center (or stylishly off-center) in this year’s collection. The ready-to-wear line includes tracksuits, T-shirts, hoodies, scarves, and a special light gray arena leather Balenciaga Le City East-West Bag, each printed or knit with an oversized cursive Balenciaga Paris logo. Layering pieces and accessories, such as wide-neck polo shirts, a leather track jacket, and a baseball cap, are also embroidered with a version of the script icon. For a more festival feel, classic footwear is reimagined in exclusive colorways: the Hamptons Sneaker comes in off-white, red, and gray, featuring red scribbling on its laces, while the Track Sneaker is offered in white, red, gray, and black. The series includes bag charms, such as red strass-set hearts and lucky horseshoes. Through these design choices, Balenciaga illustrates a way to celebrate Chinese New Year without falling into clichés. Absent from the collection are red and gold accents or zodiac motifs; instead, the casual pieces blend tradition with the avant-garde and feel like a natural extension of creative director Pierpaolo Piccioli’s vision. In particular, the large, graffiti-like logos hearken back to the bold, logo-heavy looks of the early 2000s, adding a note of nostalgia. From restaurants to rooftops: A modern ode to CNY Bringing the collection to life are three friends of the house — Chinese actresses Ma Sichun and Yang Chaoyue and Chinese actor Chen Feiyu — joined by influencers JM and Tan Suan. In the film, each takes part in a different holiday activity and embodies a distinct fashion attitude. For instance, Chen Feiyu, bundled in a logo-heavy scarf and black tracksuit, is shown hanging a red lantern in a restaurant, a gesture that heralds hope for the year ahead. He then walks outside to meet Yang Chaoyue, dressed in a crisp white tracksuit, who enjoys a tanghulu (candied fruit on a stick), reflecting the simple pleasures of the season. Later, they join Ma Sichuan on a rooftop terrace at night; clad in a black leather jacket, she completes the scene as the group laughs together, reinforcing the brand’s message of hope and togetherness. Set against the city, these moments feel all the more relatable. Shanghai itself acts as a character; the film moves from day to night, opening with the iconic Oriental Pearl TV Tower, before moving to shots of a street, restaurant, and finally a rooftop overlooking a twinkling skyline. While many people return to their hometowns during the holiday — creating the world’s biggest annual human migration — others call the city home. This campaign feels like an ode to urban dwellers, with the sleek apparel grounding the film in urban realism and traditional symbols appearing naturally within modern city life. The result is informal, intimate, and rooted in connection. Standing out with cultural storytelling Over the years, Balenciaga has found a way to put its own spin on the holidays. In 2024, it based its CNY campaign on its Chinese name, balishijia (巴黎世家), which sounds like “Paris is home” (巴黎是家). The visuals, set in a cozy Parisian home and shot on Polaroid, conveyed a feeling of belonging and comfort in Balenciaga apparel. In 2025, the Kering-owned label took a different approach, using film photography to capture New Year wishes. Also set in a relaxed home environment, the video showed stars preparing for celebrations in front of the mirror, paired with voiceovers reflecting on freedom, simple joys, and living in the moment, a theme reinforced by the distressed apparel line. This year, Balenciaga deepens its engagement for Chinese festivals and demonstrates its fluency at merging culture and style. The use of traditional symbols isn’t a retreat to convention — it comes at a time when there is a renewed longing for the joyful and familiar, the simple and nostalgic. And by placing these symbols in a cosmopolitan setting, alongside apparel designed for everyday life, the brand celebrates the occasion in a way that is both culturally resonant and contemporary.

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Balenciaga’s CNY in the city: Culture meets urban cool in new campaign