There is something quietly perfect about Nora Attal fronting Barbour’s SS26 campaign. The British-Moroccan model swaps the runways of Paris for the quiet charm of the British countryside, and somehow, between the waxed cotton and the open skies, she looks completely at home. That ease is not accidental. It is the whole point.
Born in London to Moroccan parents, Attal was discovered at just 14 by photographer Jamie Hawkesworth, who was casting at her school for a JW Anderson campaign. She quickly became a sought-after face in the industry, appearing in shows and campaigns for brands such as Prada, Burberry, and Dior, and has been a fixture on the Chanel runway for years, walking in over a dozen of the brand’s shows since 2019.She is, in every sense, one of the most recognisable faces of her generation. And she is proudly, visibly Arab, a proud representative of her Moroccan heritage, who has incorporated it into her work, including a Vogue Arabia cover where she wore a Berber ceremonial headpiece.
The Collection: Heritage, Reworked
The campaign centres on Barbour’s Icons collection, which revisits six of its most recognisable jacket styles, the Durham, Bedale, Border, Spey, Transport, and Beadnell, refining the heritage silhouettes in lighter, breathable fabrics suited to warmer days.Originally built for outdoor pursuits and British weather at its most unforgiving, these jackets have always carried a certain country-house authority. For SS26, that authority is softened, updated colourways, seasonal fabrics, and the same functional bones underneath.
The campaign was photographed by Daniel Jackson, with a cast that also includes Edie Campbell, Finnlay Davis, Woosang Kim, Meng Yu Qi, and Babacar N’doye, a diverse lineup that reflects where Barbour is trying to take its image without losing what made it iconic in the first place.. This diverse lineup
Why It Resonates
Attal’s presence in this campaign says something beyond the clothes. She is a British-Arab woman, photographed in the heart of the English countryside, wearing a brand that has existed for over 130 years, and she does not look like a guest in the image. She looks like it was made for her. In a fashion landscape that is still, slowly, learning how to make space for Arab women at the centre of the frame rather than the edge of it, that matters more than any jacket fabric or colourway ever could.
This is heritage fashion meeting a new generation. And the new generation looks very good in waxed cotton.
