Summary:
- Carhartt WIP releases Spring/Summer 2026 campaign shot by Paris-based director Hugo Campan
- The campaign follows a group of people from night to day, capturing the shift from winter to spring through film and photography
- Campan, known for his skateboarding background, brings a textural approach to the imagery
Carhartt Work In Progress has tapped Hugo Campan to shoot its Spring/Summer 2026 campaign. The Paris-based director and photographer documented the collection through both moving image and stills, building a visual narrative around the transition from winter to spring.
Campan's film follows a group of people moving through a single cycle from night into day. The footage captures pupils adjusting to early light, a guitar building from hesitant notes into sustained sound, and brief interactions that blur into memory. The campaign deals with the physical sensation of seasonal change rather than simply showing new clothes against a neutral backdrop.
The photographer worked with natural light and shadow to create texture throughout the images. You see weight in the fabrics, closeness in physical contact between subjects, and motion captured as afterimages. The stills mirror the film's attention to how bodies move through space and time.
Campan brings a specific eye to the project. His background in skateboarding informs how he frames movement and energy. In 2023, he published Excess Of Poetry In The Nervous System, a photobook combining his photographs, written work, and creative references. That same layered approach appears in this campaign, where the clothing becomes part of a larger story about transition and momentum.
The campaign positions the collection within a narrative of friction and forward motion. Winter's stillness gives way to something more active. The images show this through gesture and atmosphere rather than explicit storytelling. Subjects move between states of rest and activity, isolation and connection.
Carhartt WIP has built its identity by taking the core products of American workwear brand Carhartt and recontextualizing them for different audiences. Edwin Faeh established the brand in 1994. Since then, the yellow C logo has appeared in late 90s hip hop videos, skate footage, and across multiple music and art scenes.
The brand connects with specific cultural spaces. Detroit and Berlin's techno communities, skateboarding networks spanning Paris, New York, and Seoul, and contemporary art circles all factor into how Carhartt WIP positions itself. These influences show up in the collections, campaign imagery, and collaborative projects.
Carhartt WIP operates over 100 physical retail locations across Europe, Asia, and the United States. The brand also works with selected wholesale partners. This retail presence supports a larger strategy of embedding itself within local scenes rather than operating purely through digital channels.
For Spring/Summer 2026, the choice to work with Campan aligns with this approach. His practice sits at the intersection of multiple disciplines, from documentary photography to fashion imagery to skateboarding culture. The campaign reflects this range, moving between contemplative moments and bursts of energy.
The film and stills avoid clean, studio-lit presentations. Instead, they lean into grain, shadow, and the rougher edges of analog aesthetics. This treatment gives the clothing a lived-in quality, showing how garments function in actual environments rather than staged settings.
Campan's work on this campaign demonstrates how fashion photography has shifted toward hybrid formats. The line between campaign film and still photography blurs when both serve the same narrative. His approach treats the collection as material to work with rather than product to showcase.
The Spring/Summer 2026 campaign arrives as Carhartt WIP continues expanding its cultural footprint. By working with creators like Campan, the brand maintains connections to the subcultures that originally embraced its reinterpreted workwear. The imagery speaks to people who recognize the references while remaining accessible to those encountering the brand for the first time.
This project adds to Campan's growing body of work at the intersection of fashion, music, and youth culture. His ability to capture energy and texture makes him a natural fit for a brand that has always positioned itself between utility and style, workwear and streetwear, heritage and contemporary culture.
Jade Nichole
Based in Berlin, I work as a fashion marketer and archivist, crafting thoughtful words and strategic narratives for screens, social feeds, and cultural moments. I have a passion for uncovering niche trends, internet nostalgia, and those unexpected sparks of creativity that often come at 3AM.
@jadedjuniper