Even though the May Day holiday is not yet here, brands are already preparing for the next special day on their marketing calendars. On 25 April, French luxury fashion house Balenciaga announced its 520 campaign for 2025 – a capsule collection.
Balenciaga started with a pair of teaser photos for the collection, featuring models Estelle Chen (陈瑜) and Bai (sometimes Bai Ruien). The two appear in two travel-style photographs by Roe Ethridge, on the same beach, wearing the new capsule collection. One with the tagline “laid-back luxury”, the other with “savour the moment”. The collection includes a limited edition Balenciaga Le City handbag and 3XL trainers, and both include exclusive “520” airline-style boarding pass visuals. Eagle-eyed netizens spotted that the 520 promotional images are identical to the brand’s High Summer photoshoot, apart from the outfit.
Indeed, the interactive post from the official Balenciaga WeChat account also shows a boarding pass-like printing animation with more info unveiled with each click. Interestingly, as the two models don’t appear in the same frame, the boarding pass is also issued to a singular “you” as a personal getaway. It is an interesting departure from the “I Love You Day” trope that most brands celebrate 520 with.
The campaign was announced on 25 April and Balenciaga also added a little Easter egg in the form of a messaging app sticker collection, as well as a capsule collection of apparel. The stickers feature a “Little Green Man” in celebration of Alien Day on 26 April. However, it needs to be pointed out that Alien Day in April was a commemoration of Ridley Scott’s 1979 film Alien, rather than extraterrestrials in general. Whether it was a mistake or a deliberate subversion in the maison’s typical post-modern fashion is unclear.
With long-time creative director Demna moving to fellow Kering brand Gucci, Balenciaga might also be in a transition period, in search of a new brand identity. Maybe the clue is within the 520 collection.
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