One of the biggest staples of the house is meant to have all the eyes and attention on it, and with Balenciaga's new campaign, Le City Bag is once again the star of the season. Directed and photographed by Lauren Greenfield and with the presence of some of the trendiest fashion girls of the moment, the bag becomes the focus of the cameras and flashes in a setting that could easily be the perfect audience for any of the house’s fashion shows. Enhancing its it-value, showcasing its range and variety, and solidifying its icon status, Le City bag reclaims the front row.
Originally introduced in 2001 and instantly becoming one of the most memorable pieces created by Nicolas Ghesquière during his tenure at the house, Le City Bag has been present in the wardrobe of every it-girl since then, with its soft, slouchy, and functional superfine lambskin design being stylish but useful for the 21st-century woman. This new campaign arrives in a moment where Y2K hype is higher than ever, and we are looking back at what we wore in the early 2000s for inspiration, and the looks chosen to be paired with the bag match this aesthetic, including pieces from the latest Balenciaga collection but also from past ones.
Presented as a front row, names like Camille Charriere, Devon Lee Carlson, Paloma Elsesser, Mika Schneider, and Olympia of Greece sit one next to the other, each one of them holding a different version of the bag while they check their phones, greet one another, and pose for photos and selfies, you know, the typical pre-show activities very normal for the attendees but often unseen for the external audience. The Balenciaga Instagram feed has been cleaned for this release, and only the three posts of the campaign appear on it, meaning they want all of our attention on it, and they got it; we will never not obsess over Le City Bag.
