For Fall 2026, Balenciaga turned to a fusion of sportswear and formal dress. Titled “Body and Being,” the collection nods to the legacy of Cristóbal Balenciaga, whose practice placed care for the human body and its forms at the core of design. The results are pro-sports references fused with thoughtful tailoring, sculptural silhouettes, and a sense of modern elegance. 

Shot in Paris, the campaign features a cast of actors, artists, musicians, and models sprinting through daily life—on city streets and subways, in the gym, and at home. Cashmere capes are thrown over hooded jersey sets. Leather jackets wrap around Lycra workout looks. Vibrant windbreakers and peacoats get layered with leggings and shorts, while the newly proposed Le City bag and supersized sneakers run as a visual throughline across the collection. 

Details seen in short-billed wool caps, stand-up collar jackets, and the voluminous, bubble-like silhouettes of dresses feel especially indelible this season. Pierpaolo Piccioli reimagines these forms through a 1960s lens, drawing from Balenciaga’s archival silhouettes. Alongside this return to the house’s history, the designer also looks forward, introducing capsule collaborations with the NBA and Manolo Blahnik. 

From T-shirts to varsity jackets, rendered in the NBA blue, red, and white—offset by Balenciaga’s signature black—the collaboration underscores the house’s ongoing fusion of sports and technology. Meanwhile, the Manolo Blahnik partnership presents three delicate silk-satin heels, offering a softer counterpoint.

Together, these seemingly disparate elements are seamlessly woven into this season’s collection, where, as the press release states, “luxury is expressed through comfort and ease, as a state of mind.”