Balenciaga revives the glamour of the 2000s with ‘Le City Paparazzi’

A campaign that not only pays homage to the House’s iconic bag, but also revives the visual culture of the turn of the century.

In the images, past and present are intertwined through digital alterations that propose a new visual narrative and reinforce the temporality of the Le City bag. And for this, some of the most iconic models of the late 1990s and early 2000s return. Figures whose lives and styles were mercilessly captured by the paparazzi in every corner of the world.

Alek Wek, Alessandra Ambrosio, Amber Valletta, Claudia Schiffer, Malgosia Bela, Natasha Poly and Tyra Banks. They all appear alongside actress Lucy Liu and pop culture muse Paris Hilton. Each of these epic celebrities is portrayed in images that evoke the often chaotic but always chic street style that defined the aesthetic of the era.

But Balenciaga takes the message a step further. The carefully altered photographs not only show us these icons in their best period looks, but digitally integrate the Le City bag into their present, as if the accessory had always been there. This approach reconfigures our perception of the bag: an object that not only transcends time, but is able to adapt, transform and remain relevant, no matter the decade.