The Balenciaga Heart and Body ad campaign contextualizes Pierpoalo Piccioli first collections: Summer 2026, The Heartbeat, and Fall 2026, Body and Being.

“I chose individuals, not characters,” says Piccioli. “Human beings with distinct stories, faces marked by experience, vulnerability, and nuance. I was not looking for constructed personas, but for real presence. At the center of Summer 26 is the creation of a new community—different, yet connected by shared values: respect, sensitivity, strength, freedom. Not sameness, but resonance.”

The series stars new Balenciaga ambassadors: acclaimed British actor Harris Dickinson, who has made several seminal films in as many years, among them Babygirl and Urchin—which he also directed; Oscar-nominated and iconic American actor Winona Ryder, whose work spans from Beetlejuice to The Age of Innocence to Stranger Things; and longtime Balenciaga collaborator Roh Yoonseo of South Korea, a star who has twice won the Baeksang Arts Best New Actress Award, for her television and film work. New Friends of House include American actors Danielle Deadwyler of The Woman in the Yard and Havana Rose Liu of Bottoms, British Euphoria composer Labrinth, Canadian actor Hudson Williams of Heated Rivalry, Danish model Mona Tougaard, French model Loli Bahia, and Balenciaga exclusive models Ned Sims and Sen Samysheva.

David Sims captures, on this cast, a range of exquisitely crafted men’s and women’s ready-to-wear that crosses modern silhouettes with classic Balenciaga technique, in service to volume and freedom—austerity belied by dynamic lightness, emphasizing exchange between body and materiality. Portraits taken at close and further range utilize the improvisation and distinction each talent brings to set, exploring their naturalistic selves with direct snapshots and interviews. Their spoken responses are collaged and composed as looping sonic overlay.