Balenciaga Casts Anok Yai, Dara Gueye and Liu Wen for 'Clair-obscur' Fall 2026 Campaign
Balenciaga has released its fall 2026 campaign, titled "Clair-obscur," with models Anok Yai, Dara Gueye and Liu Wen fronting the studio images shot by photographer Robin Galiegue. The French house, part of luxury group Kering, shared details of the campaign first with WWD on 27 August 2026. WWD
The campaign takes its name from creative director Pierpaolo Piccioli's fall 2026 ready-to-wear collection — the seasonal clothes sold in shops, as against couture, which is made to order. Piccioli described clair-obscur, a centuries-old painting technique that plays on the contrast between light and shadow, as "not only a fine art and photography technique but also an emotion," according to the house. The imagery also drew inspiration from the "Clair-obscur" group exhibition at the Bourse de Commerce, the contemporary-art museum in Paris housed in a former grain exchange, which had recently closed. WWD
Sculptural outerwear dominates the campaign, much of it in leather, with many pieces showing face-framing collars or hoods. Balenciaga said the images suggest a romantic tension between darkness and light, envelopment and unexpected ease, with a focus on the architecture of outerwear and bags. WWD
The accessories get their own close-ups. The Hourglass Avenue bag and Le 7 Bowling bag are featured in detailed shots, alongside Bloom pumps and Midnight City mules. The house's official website also hosts a "Winter 26" campaign page describing clair-obscur effects frozen in embroideries on dresses and the Midnight City bag, plus ombré effects on D'Orsay sneakers as if caught in shifting light. WWD
The handbag push is deliberate. Kering, which also owns Gucci and Saint Laurent, has been ramping up Balenciaga's focus on bags — a category that carries some of the highest margins in luxury, since a leather bag requires less fitted construction than a tailored coat and can be produced at scale across price points. WWD
The fall 2026 collection itself was first presented as a lookbook on 15 January 2026, also photographed by Galiegue but in a different register: clothes captured in the street, the gym, the commute and at home. Casting for that collection was handled by DM Casting. Balenciaga Instagram
Piccioli's appointment at Balenciaga was one of the most closely watched creative-director moves in the luxury calendar. A campaign built around a single art-historical concept, photographed in a controlled studio, signals a house settling into a clear visual identity under its new creative lead — and one willing to give accessories top billing alongside the outerwear.
