Celebrity Names: Labrinth, Winona Ryder, Hudson Williams, Harris Dickinson, Roh Yoonseo, Danielle Deadwyler, Havana Rose Liu, Mona Tougaard, Loli Bahia, Ned Sims, Sen Samysheva
Brand Name: Balenciaga
Deal Type: Brand Ambassadors / Friends of the House
Announced: February 17, 2026
Impact: First ambassador class under new Creative Director Pierpaolo Piccioli; signals a full brand repositioning away from Demna-era provocation toward humanist luxury
- Balenciaga launched its “Heart and Body” campaign, introducing 11 new brand ambassadors and Friends of the House, the first appointed under incoming Creative Director Pierpaolo Piccioli.
- Actors Winona Ryder, Harris Dickinson, and Roh Yoonseo are named full Brand Ambassadors, while Labrinth, Hudson Williams, Danielle Deadwyler, Havana Rose Liu, and models Mona Tougaard, Loli Bahia, Ned Sims, and Sen Samysheva join as Friends of the House.
- The campaign was shot by legendary fashion photographer David Sims and supports Piccioli’s first two Balenciaga collections: Summer 2026 “The Heartbeat” and Fall 2026 “Body and Being.”
Balenciaga just made one of the biggest casting announcements in luxury fashion this year, and it’s a statement move in every sense.
The Paris house unveiled its new community of Brand Ambassadors and Friends of the House, the first to be named under Creative Director Pierpaolo Piccioli, with a full campaign, “Heart and Body”, already shot and ready to go.
The move echoes the kind of bold, artist-forward casting we’ve seen across the industry lately, like when Dua Lipa was named a global ambassador for Bulgari, signaling that luxury houses are increasingly betting on multi-hyphenate cultural figures over traditional fashion faces.
Leading the ambassador tier are Harris Dickinson, Winona Ryder, and Roh Yoonseo. Ryder, a long-time fashion world fixture and recurring Marc Jacobs muse, is an inspired pick; a reminder that legacy fashion credibility still carries serious weight in the room.
Piccioli described the group as “human beings with distinct stories, faces marked by experience, vulnerability and nuance,” adding that he was “not looking for constructed personas, but for real presence.”
For Labrinth, the alignment feels natural. The Emmy-winning Euphoria composer previously performed at Piccioli’s Fall/Winter 2022 Valentino Haute Couture show at Rome’s Spanish Steps, their second collaboration together, making this Balenciaga alignment a natural reunion.
He called the partnership “world-building,” not just fashion. He also holds global ambassador status with Cartier, making him one of the few musicians sitting comfortably across multiple major luxury houses simultaneously.
Hudson Williams, breakout star of Heated Rivalry, represents the next generation in this roster. Williams said, “This campaign isn’t just about fashion — it’s about identity and having the confidence to show up as yourself without compromise.”
For Williams, this marks his first major luxury house alignment at this level; a career milestone that mirrors the kind of emerging-talent momentum we saw when Caroline Polachek, Amy Taylor, and Celeste fronted McQueen’s latest campaign. It’s clear that fashion houses deliberately tapping rising musical and creative voices to reshape their identity.
Rounding out the Friends of the House are Danielle Deadwyler, Havana Rose Liu, and models Mona Tougaard, Loli Bahia, Ned Sims, and Sen Samysheva; the latter two exclusive to Balenciaga.
The Summer 2026 collection is now available online and in select stores globally.
Takeaways:
This isn’t just a new ambassador list; it’s Balenciaga publicly declaring what it wants to be now. After years of Demna-era internet-breaking stunts, Piccioli is steering the house toward something far more intimate: authenticity over spectacle, humanity over provocation.
The casting is deliberately cross-generational and cross-discipline. You’ve got a Stranger Things icon next to an Emmy-winning composer, next to the hottest new face in Canadian TV drama. That’s not an accident.
Piccioli is building a world, one rooted in cultural credibility rather than viral moments. It’s a playbook luxury fashion is clearly converging on, as seen in how houses like Bulgari and McQueen have moved toward artist-driven storytelling and cross-industry icon casting to signal creative reinvention.
For Hudson Williams, this is a watershed moment; his first major house deal, riding the momentum of Heated Rivalry‘s cultural wave.
Does this Balenciaga lineup make the brand feel more relatable or more exclusive to you? With Labrinth holding ambassadorships at both Cartier and Balenciaga, does multi-house loyalty become the new standard for top creative talent?
