PIER59 Studios Marks 30 Years, Expanding Into Virtual Production & AI-Driven Workflows
For three decades, PIER59 Studios has been a constant presence behind some of the world's most recognizable images, performances, and cultural moments. In 2026, the iconic Chelsea waterfront campus celebrates its 30th anniversary, marking a rare milestone for a studio that has continuously evolved alongside the artists, industries, and technologies shaping modern visual culture.
Founded in 1995 at the height of the film era, PIER59 quickly became a home for large-scale fashion photography and editorial production. As the industry transitioned to digital capture, motion, and multi-platform storytelling, the studio evolved alongside it, expanding into film, television, advertising, live events, and experiential production. Today, PIER59 stands at the forefront of the next transformation: real-time 3D, virtual production, and AI-enabled creative workflows designed to enhance collaboration, efficiency, and imagination.
"PIER59 Studios was never about a single medium," says Federico Pignatelli della Leonessa, Founder and CEO. "It was about creating an environment where artists and storytellers could evolve, from film to digital, from motion to virtual worlds, and where emerging tools like AI expand creative possibility rather than replace it.”
Over the years, PIER59 has hosted defining work by image-makers such as Steven Meisel, Annie Leibovitz, Mario Testino, Peter Lindbergh, and David LaChapelle, alongside creative directors including Fabien Baron and Grace Coddington. Its stages have welcomed generations of cultural figures, from supermodels Naomi Campbell, Cindy Crawford, Christy Turlington, and Gisele Bündchen, to entertainers and artists including Madonna, Beyoncé, Rihanna, Jay-Z, Leonardo DiCaprio, Jennifer Aniston, and Robert De Niro.
Major brands and institutions including Vogue, Victoria's Secret, Louis Vuitton, Chanel, Dior, Nike, Adidas, HBO, Netflix, CNN, and Disney have also relied on the studio as a production home, reinforcing its role as a crossroads of fashion, entertainment, media, and global culture.
In addition to shoots and campaigns, PIER59 has hosted runway shows, live broadcasts, fashion weeks, cultural summits, and large-scale experiential events, reinforcing its identity not only as a studio, but as a creative destination.
The studio's Virtual Production Megaverse Stage enables creators to work in real-time 3D environments that seamlessly blend physical sets, digital worlds, and live performance. Alongside virtual production, PIER59 is actively integrating AI-assisted tools across pre-production, production, and post-production workflows, supporting more efficient planning, sustainable practices, and deeper creative collaboration.
While fashion remains central to its DNA, PIER59 functions as an integrated creative ecosystem supporting projects across fashion, film, television, sports, music, advertising, live events and immersive media, all within a single campus designed to adapt to the evolving needs of modern production.
The 30-year anniversary will unfold throughout 2026 as a year-long celebration featuring curated retrospectives of iconic imagery, large-scale events, experimental showcases using virtual production and AI-driven tools, and collaborations with brands, media platforms, and cultural institutions.
