Winona Ryder attends Balenciaga’s Fall 2026 show amid ‘Euphoria’ crossover buzz
Saturday at 9: 40 p. m. ET, winona ryder was among the attendees who watched Balenciaga present its Fall 2026 collection in Paris, a runway show built around a collaboration with “Euphoria” and its creator, Sam Levinson. The timing matters because the show’s visuals and prints pulled from the series’ long-awaited third season, which is set to return in April.
Balenciaga Fall 2026 in Paris puts “Euphoria” front and center
The Balenciaga show took place in a dark venue on the Avenue des Champs-Élysées, with low lighting and loud music. Flickering video screens cycled through nocturnal cityscapes and preview images tied to “Euphoria” season three, including footage featuring new cast member Danielle Deadwyler. One sweater shown was printed with a screen still of Deadwyler smoking a cigarette in a low-cut blood-red top.
In another description of the show environment, Levinson handled the installation and cinematography for the set, using dozens of video monitors that displayed California landscapes, wolves, empty bars and close-ups of new “Euphoria” cast members, including Deadwyler blinking nervously.
The collection aimed to channel the mood of the series through a mix of glossy blacks and harsh neons, paired with bare legs, ab-revealing dresses, scrunched leather jackets and dark glasses. The theme, as described backstage, centered on “light and darkness. ”
Pierpaolo Piccioli’s “ClairObscur” lineup leans on outerwear and portrait collars
Pierpaolo Piccioli’s Fall 2026 presentation leaned heavily into statement outerwear and structured silhouettes. One account described 81 models moving through a thin path of light in polished looks anchored by imposing coats, with portrait collars and other face-framing collars—such as funnel necks—emerging as the defining motif.
The show opened with black looks, described as the season’s defining color at Balenciaga, including a bubble-shaped leather bomber with a cocoon-like back, a sculptural peacoat with a collar rising sharply, and an officer coat with collar and lapels standing away from slightly hunched shoulders. Interspersed between those coats were draped jersey dresses described as minimal-seam constructions, along with high-waisted jeans.
Accessories called out in show coverage included softer, rumpled takes on the Hourglass bag, off-kilter studded brogues created in collaboration with J. M. Weston, and handbags identified as the Rodeo and City styles. One summary also pointed to chunky statement sneakers, crystallized futuristic sunglasses, and leather opera gloves paired with draped dresses.
Piccioli also put menswear on the runway for the first time, with the men’s looks similarly centered on imposing outerwear and baggier pants. Prints from “Euphoria” season three appeared across coats, sweaters and fleece.
Piccioli said backstage he collaborated with Levinson because he wanted “to take a picture of this generation, ” adding that what he valued in the show was its approach to portraying characters without judging them. In a separate statement made during a preview ahead of the runway show, he said Levinson tells stories “not judging, not criticizing, not celebrating, ” and described the idea of finding “light in the darkness” as metaphorical.
Winona Ryder and other guests watch as Balenciaga courts a younger audience
winona ryder attended the Paris presentation alongside other guests named in coverage, including Naomi Watts and Lori Harvey. The guest list also included “Euphoria” actor Chloe Cherry, as well as Hudson Williams, who was present outside the show and later appeared in a backstage moment where Piccioli unzipped Williams’ leather jacket to reveal an image printed on the T-shirt underneath.
The collaboration itself carried an explicit business rationale in show descriptions: a direct play for the younger audience that fashion houses are trying to reach, using a pop-culture partnership and a moodboard that included Caravaggio’s The Calling of Saint Matthew to reinforce the “light and darkness” framing.
Reactions to the collection extended beyond the runway audience. A forum roundup described sharply negative responses, including criticism of the collection’s prints and overall execution, with multiple commenters using terms such as “boring” and “pedestrian. ”
The next confirmed milestone tied to the show’s central reference point is the return of “Euphoria” in April; one account specified an April 12 release. If additional details about Balenciaga’s “ClairObscur” presentation emerge from the brand in the days ahead, the focus will likely remain on how the collaboration’s imagery translates from the runway into the collection’s retail life.
