The Balenciaga Winter 23 campaign’s photographs and videos were shot within 10- 12 avenue George V, Balenciaga’s Paris birthplace and its soon-to-be Couture and creative headquarters. This iconic address is where Cristóbal Balenciaga opened the French Couture House in 1937. It was where he lived, worked, and held collections presentations until 1968. Balenciaga revived this address in 2021, when Demna presented his first Couture collection in the newly restored salons. It will be reestablished as the Balenciaga headquarters.
In a series of still and moving images by fashion photographer Tyler Mitchell, the historic Balenciaga address is under renovation, being revitalized for a kind of homecoming: the existing Couture salons have expanded double in size, and the Balenciaga Couture and ready-to-wear ateliers, plus new offices have been added to the building’s six levels at 12 avenue George V.
The cast — actress Isabelle Huppert and models Vittoria Ceretti, Minttu Vesala, Arthur del Beato, Nyawurh Chuol, Yura Nakano and Mathieu Simoneau — attempt classic poses in the Winter 23 Collection. In a series of set-ups, the talent is placed among in-progress construction and workers, providing scenes with an ironic point of comparison and an opportunity for each to improvise.
The collection includes deconstructed tailoring, with signature pieces such as track suits, denim and leather jackets, suiting, and jeans—reinvented as inverted or doubled-up approaches, furthering the brand’s experimentation with hybridity. Pleated blouses and skirts, eveningwear lace, bead-embroidered gowns, fitted sweatsuits, and faux-mink coats offer updated Couture silhouettes, with cinched waists and rounded shoulders. Also introduces the Monaco Bag line, the Anatomic and Biker Boot lines, the 3XL Sock Shoe, the Flex Pump, Fennec and Speed eyewear, and classics in updated styles, with more material options and brand-new intentions. These include Le Cagole Collector, Le Cagole Carry All, and Le Cagole Basket; the Crush Sling in floral-printed leather; the Everyday Tote in fluffy fake fur; the Bulldozer Boot; the Knife Pump in bow-tied Spandex; the Duty-Free in embossed leather; the Triple S in monochrome; the Superbusy Sling; and wallets that echo Balenciaga bag signatures.
Tyler Mitchell is a photographer and filmmaker based in Brooklyn, New York. His work embraces themes of the past within fictionalized moments of the imagined future.
