November 5, 2026 |
Pierpaolo Piccioli is exiting Balenciaga .
Announced this afternoon, Piccioli is stepping down as creative director of the Parisian house, bringing his tenure at the helm to a close.
The Italian designer was appointed in May 2025, succeeding Demna, and officially took up the role on July 10 that year. His appointment followed a 25-year career at Valentino, where he spent the final years as sole creative director, developing a distinctive approach to couture that placed colour, craftsmanship and emotional expression at its centre.
Piccioli made his Balenciaga debut with the SS26 collection in October 2025, introducing his interpretation of a house founded on architectural construction and couturier Cristóbal Balenciaga’s experimental approach to the silhouette. His arrival marked a new creative chapter, bringing his own romantic sensibility to a label whose recent identity had been shaped by Demna’s exploration of streetwear, proportion and contemporary culture.
Throughout his tenure, Piccioli explored the relationship between clothing and the body, bringing together sculptural shapes, technical fabrics and fluid, expressive dressing. His collections considered how Balenciaga’s established codes could be revisited through a different perspective, blending the house’s history of innovation with his own interest in the humanity of fashion.
For AW26, Piccioli extended his vision into menswear, while collaborating with Euphoria creator Sam Levinson on a film accompanying the collection. The project brought together figures from across film, music and fashion, reflecting the designer’s interest in the people and personalities surrounding the clothes.
In July 2026, Piccioli returned to the house’s couture foundations with his first haute couture collection for Balenciaga. The presentation brought his approach to colour and craftsmanship into dialogue with the legacy of Cristóbal Balenciaga.
Photography by David Sims.
