A NEW YORK MINUTE
Launching May 27th, 2026, Balenciaga’s latest campaign is directed by Oscar nominated filmmaker Celine Song. A New York Minute stars acclaimed actor and friend of the House Sarah Pidgeon, marking the first time the two women have collaborated with each other and with Creative Director Pierpaolo Piccioli.
Three films, each exactly 60 seconds long and shot entirely in Manhattan, highlight the versatility of Balenciaga’s Le City, Le 7 Bowling, and Rodeo bags.
Taking place in the morning, afternoon, and evening, the films feature pieces from Balenciaga’s Fall 26 Collection: innovative TechWear separates and Jet sneakers, Balenciaga | Manolo Blahnik and Duchesse pumps, sophisticated evening and outerwear, and the three coveted bags in black leather.
The personal becomes performance as Pidgeon’s character partakes in quintessentially New York moments—retrieving dry cleaning, traversing a crowded intersection, and cabbing home—each exposed as a precisely staged shoot.
Three films, each exactly 60 seconds long and shot entirely in Manhattan, highlight the versatility of Balenciaga’s Le City, Le 7 Bowling, and Rodeo bags.
Taking place in the morning, afternoon, and evening, the films feature pieces from Balenciaga’s Fall 26 Collection: innovative TechWear separates and Jet sneakers, Balenciaga | Manolo Blahnik and Duchesse pumps, sophisticated evening and outerwear, and the three coveted bags in black leather.
The personal becomes performance as Pidgeon’s character partakes in quintessentially New York moments—retrieving dry cleaning, traversing a crowded intersection, and cabbing home—each exposed as a precisely staged shoot.
The narratives depict a harmony within hectic city life—then reveals their own cinematographic mechanics, on live locations. After a cut, Song instructs her team to “keep rolling,” capturing more of a scene’s real-life surroundings. By breaking the fourth wall, what goes into modern-day movie making is unveiled, as are the worlds created around it.
Song’s own trusted filmmaking family appear, including Shabier Kirchner, cinematographer for both Past Lives and Materialists, also shot in New York. A New York Minute celebrates an interplay between fiction and reality, and the joy of collective creation.
In one minute, Pidgeon’s character is stopped by a fictional crew filming a street scene for a romantic comedy, adding a layer of mediation to the metanarrative.
(Echoing the surreal connective tissue of city life, the rom-com’s protagonist carries the same Le City Bag as Pidgeon.) It’s a film within a film—itself revealed with a pan out that shows another set, another crew, and Song as the director.
Song’s own trusted filmmaking family appear, including Shabier Kirchner, cinematographer for both Past Lives and Materialists, also shot in New York. A New York Minute celebrates an interplay between fiction and reality, and the joy of collective creation.
In one minute, Pidgeon’s character is stopped by a fictional crew filming a street scene for a romantic comedy, adding a layer of mediation to the metanarrative.
(Echoing the surreal connective tissue of city life, the rom-com’s protagonist carries the same Le City Bag as Pidgeon.) It’s a film within a film—itself revealed with a pan out that shows another set, another crew, and Song as the director.
The campaign extends beyond its filmic components with additional content—captured by Piccioli himself and by photographers Monaris and Zora Sicher—found on a dedicated Instagram account, @keeppprolling, only available during the campaign.
This burner account more covertly shows what happens behind-the-scenes: that rarely publicized yet often circulated imagery of a shoot’s preparation, intervals, and aftermath. Besides snapshots of creative teams and talent off duty, @keeppprolling positions the campaign as interactive and ongoing, with its own exclusive projects.
The campaign lives, as well, in the photos and videos taken of its production, posted in real time by passersby: yet another layer to the city and its scenography.