Justin Bieber and Isabelle Huppert are the New Faces of Balenciaga
Canadian pop superstar Justin Bieber and French acting legend Isabelle Huppert: together at last? The unlikely pair are the two celebrity faces featured in Balenciaga’s fall 2020 campaign under creative director Demna Gvasalia. Huppert has previously appeared in a campaign for Givenchy and fronted a film for Roger Vivier, but this is something of a milestone for Bieber. While he’s appeared in several ads for Calvin Klein in the past, somehow Bieber has never fronted a campaign for a European luxury house before.
Shot by American artist Katy Grannan, the sparse images find both stars standing amid liminal spaces of concrete and metal. Bieber wears an oversized leather jacket, t-shirt, sweat pants, and the house’s latest statement sneakers. His look is topped off with a Balenciaga city bag (handbags? They’re not just for Harry Styles anymore). Huppert meanwhile wears an asymmetrical trench with the Hourglass handbag.
This being Balenciaga, the campaign isn’t all about celebrities. The rest of the portfolio features models and Balenciaga’s ‘real life’ muses. Indeed, under Gvasalia, the brand has only just recently begun to court celebrity faces. In fact, its runways were populated by lesser-knowns and street-cast models until Bella Hadid walked the house’s spring ‘20 show in Paris. Cardi B became the first celebrity to appear in a campaign for Gvasalia’s version of Balenciaga last year. Her image debuted when it was hung on the side of the Louvre. In other words, not just any famous face appears in a Balenciaga campaign.
The dual choice of Bieber and Huppert is surprising, but not completely unexpected. Huppert showed up to the Cannes red carpet in a full Balenciaga number earlier this month. Bieber has also been a fan of Gvasalia’s work for years. The pop star was one of Gvasalia’s ardent celebrity fans back when he was at the Vetements label. There was some speculation that the 2016 Vetements hoodie that read “Justin4Ever” was something of a direct shout-out to the Biebs. We guess we can finally confirm that indeed Gvasalia actually is a Belieber.
