PIERPAOLO PICCIOLI’S DEBUT AT BALENCIAGA

We saw it coming

Back in May, I wrote that “the gods of fashion are changing temples, their followers will lose faith, and the rest will be disoriented.” And here we are. Pierpaolo Piccioli’s debut at Balenciaga has confirmed it: the shift has begun.

This is not a smooth transition. For ten years, Balenciaga spoke with Demna Gvasalia’s voice — a language of provocation, distortion, and irony. Piccioli speaks another one: lyrical, human, architectural. His arrival marks not just a change in style, but in philosophy.

He said he wanted “a meeting point between me and those who came before me.” Yet the bridge is fragile. Piccioli might have been the perfect choice a decade earlier, before Demna redefined Balenciaga through street energy and visual aggression. Now, after so much excess, comes grace — and grace takes time to be understood.

Under Demna, Balenciaga became a laboratory of shock and invention. The giant sneakers, the sculptural tailoring, the exaggerated silhouettes — all of it broke the boundaries of luxury. Piccioli’s instinct moves in the opposite direction: light, air, and emotion. His debut feels like a pause between two storms.

Those who loved Demna’s dissonance may feel orphaned, while those who cherished Cristóbal Balenciaga’s purity and craftsmanship will recognize a familiar spirit. Piccioli’s language is softer, rooted in form and color, in the beauty of execution rather than disruption.

“The third element between body and fabric is air,” he said — and that single idea shaped the entire collection. The garments breathe. The color palette, quiet but precise, alternates muted neutrals with flashes of violet, antique gold, and green. Vogue called it “a revolution of humanity.” Perhaps it is simply a return to proportion.

Still, beneath this elegance lies uncertainty. Balenciaga has always been a brand of structure and weight; now it whispers. The challenge is not creative — it’s existential. Can a house born from Cristóbal’s discipline and craft find a new identity after years of irony and overexposure?

For now, Piccioli and Balenciaga are still searching. But if he succeeds in merging the house’s sculptural DNA with his own sense of poetry — the embroidery, the color, the calm precision — we might witness the rebirth of a true classic:
a Balenciaga 2025 that speaks again the language of beauty, without losing its soul.

GALLERY