First launched in 2001, Le City has become synonymous with an era and a lifestyle, known for its enigmatic maximalist yet practical approach. Over twenty years since its initial debut, Le City makes a comeback as a reconstituted icon.

To celebrate the launch, Balenciaga unveils a campaign of portraits captured by renowned fashion photographer Mario Sorrenti, highlighting the reintroduction of Balenciaga’s Le City bag — an early 2000s design that has influenced the brand’s current vocabulary. The series features notable figures, including British fashion icon Kate Moss, Danish model Mona Tougaard, Chinese actress and singer Yang Chaoyue, and Korean singer Juyeon. Each talent’s individuality is emphasized against a grey background in striking still images and videos.

In reimagining the collection, various archival City styles were examined and remodeled, resulting in an amalgamation of the original’s accumulated characteristics. The bag’s hand-assembled, 25-panel construction replicates vintage versions, using the same dimensions of exterior and interior layers. Key features include reinforced corners with small metal buckles, thimble-like studs that form a distinctive design across the body of the bag, numerous interior and exterior pockets, and an overall aspect that gains a unique patina over time, giving it a timeless quality.

These distinctive traits, along with the bag’s leather zipper pulls and rivets, have served as inspiration for another Balenciaga line called Le Cagole. However, Le City is specifically crafted to closely resemble the circa-2001 design, with improvements made in terms of sustainable production practices.

Balenciaga Le City now comes in medium and small sizes, with adjustable shoulder and crossbody straps respectively. It is introduced in black, yellow, green, light purple, metallic steel grey, metallic silver, white, blue, and beige colorways.